BLAZE Read online

  Blaze

  Steel Riders M.C.

  Jessica Coulter Smith

  Copyright © 2015 Jessica Coulter Smith

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  This book is a work of fiction. Names, character, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or use fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locals or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

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  Published by Coastal Escape Publishing

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  SNEAK PEEK

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Chapter One

  Lucas “Blaze” Thompson inhaled a lungful of nicotine before tossing the butt on the ground and putting it out under his Harley Davidson boots. Blowing out a cloud of smoke, he braced his arms on the porch railing and stared off into the night. Behind him, the raucous sounds of laughter and revelry could be heard as his brothers celebrated their latest score. They’d managed to steal ten kilos of cocaine from the Stingers M.C. and had turned around and sold it for $250,000. It wouldn’t last long, not with the rate they went through booze and marijuana, and the occasional score of heroin, but it would add to the coffers for a little while.

  Truthfully, selling drugs left a bad taste in his mouth, but he supposed it could be worse. There were clubs known for prostitution and human trafficking, and he definitely wasn’t down with that shit. At least the party girls who came to their clubhouse were there of their own free will, even if half of them were hoping to become someone’s old lady. Not that Blaze was about to take sloppy seconds as his old lady, not when the party girls fucked everyone in the club, sometimes more than one at a time.

  He didn’t kid himself and think his mate would be virginal, but as far as he was concerned, the party girls were just one step up from whores. He had absolutely no respect for them, and when he took a mate, he was going to respect the hell out of her.

  He reached for another cigarette but paused as he felt a small hand slide up his back and under his cut, the long nails slightly scraping him through his tee. Blaze didn’t know how the female had gotten the drop on him, but it wasn’t like him to be so careless. At the very least, his grizzly should have alerted him to the woman’s presence, especially since one whiff told him it was the one female he wanted to avoid.

  “I’m not in the mood, Celia.”

  “That wasn’t what you said last week, when you were fucking me against the

  hallway wall. As I recall, you didn’t say much, but you sure worked me over with that monster cock of yours.” Her hand snaked around his waist and groped him.

  Blaze pried her hand away, careful not to hurt her, even though he’d have loved nothing more than to crush every bone in her body at that particular moment. The woman was downright lethal—not in a sexy way—and he knew she was trouble for the club…and him. But she sucked cock like a pro, so his brothers were ignoring his warnings. He’d caught her in the Pres’ office snooping around, but she claimed to have gotten lost on the way to the bathroom. He didn’t buy her bullshit for a moment. She was either working for someone, or looking to score. Either way, she had no business hanging around the Steel Riders, and he’d love nothing more than to boot her out on her ass.

  “I fucked you,” he admitted. “Once. It’s never going to happen again.”

  Fire lit her eyes for a flash of a second and then she was all syrupy smiles and simpering coos as she rubbed his chest. “You know you don’t mean that. We had a good time. It can happen again, whenever you want. However you want.”

  He growled, the sound rumbling from his chest, as he bared his teeth at her. He felt his bear rise up inside of him. “I will never want you, Celia. And if you think I’m going to claim you, you couldn’t be more mistaken. I’d never take a whore like you as my mate.”

  Her lips tightened and anger brightened her eyes. “So I’m not good enough for

  you? Good enough to fuck but not to claim?”

  “You’re here to scratch an itch. Nothing more. If you want a white picket fence, you need to look elsewhere. No one in this club is going to be stupid enough to sign on to a life sentence with you.”

  She drew her hand back and let it fly, but he caught it in a bruising grip before it could make contact with his cheek. He squeezed, not hard enough to break bones, but enough to get his point across. Blaze didn’t let go until she winced, then he dropped her hand and watched as she took a step back. There was hatred in her gaze as she stared up at him.

  “You’re going to regret tossing me aside,” she said.

  “No. What I regret is ever fucking you to begin with.”

  Her cheeks flushed as she turned on her heel and stormed back inside, probably to tell his brothers what a big meanie he was. And more than likely, someone would fall for her story and take her to bed tonight. What she needed was a final send off, with her tail tucked between her legs for her treachery. There was no way Celia had been in that office by mistake. And there were plenty of drugs to be had around the club, so that only left money. She had to have been looking to steal from them. Maybe she was after the $250,000, or maybe she wanted more than that. What she didn’t know was that they seldom left cash lying around; it was locked up tightly in the safe in the boardroom, and even she wouldn’t be stupid enough to wander into that place.

  Blaze shook out another cigarette and lit it up. He inhaled deeply and held the breath a moment before blowing the smoke out. He could practically feel the nicotine give him an extra charge just from that one puff. His ma had been after him to quit for years, but it wasn’t like he was going to get cancer from it, not with his shifter abilities.

  She should just be thankful he’d kicked his heroin habit before it had really gotten its hooks into him. He’d watched some of his brothers detox from that shit and it wasn’t pretty.

  Truthfully, he didn’t know what the future held for him at this point. He was an officer with the Steel Riders M.C. and his brothers were his life. But he couldn’t ignore the emptiness he’d been feeling lately, the dull ache inside that told him something was missing. Yeah, he had a great time—drinking, smoking, and fucking anything in a skirt, but lately that wasn’t enough. He’d never dare voice his feelings or his brothers would call him a pussy and question his ability to hold the position of Sergeant-at-Arms. Blaze was known for his take-no-prisoners attitude and ability to beat the shit out of a man without blinking. And he regretted nothing he’d done for the club over the last twenty years.

  He was pushing forty now. Maybe it was time to settle down. Blaze had always

  thought he’d know his mate when he met her, that there would be some instant pull, some recognition on his part, but what if that was just a fairy tale? What if he’d wasted all these years waiting on something that might not ever happen when he could have found some nice girl and settled down years ago? Assuming he could find a nice girl who wouldn’t
mind his lifestyle. Not too many good girls wanted to link themselves to a biker for more than one night.

  Yeah. That’s what he wanted. Some prim, proper, buttoned-up woman who

  looked like a librarian on the outside, but fucked like a wild cat. If he closed his eyes, he could almost see her. It was enough to get his dick hard. With a grunt, he put out his cigarette and contemplated his next move. He could go back inside, join the merriment and get laid once or twice by the random girls inside. Or he could call it a night and head home.

  The thought of Celia being inside was almost enough to make up his mind. He

  wasn’t sure he could keep his cool if he saw her again tonight, especially not if she approached him. There was something off about that female. He’d felt it when he fucked her, but she’d merely been a way to blow off steam and get his dick wet. He should probably feel bad about treating the women in the clubhouse like they were disposable, but to him, they really were. They’d chosen this life: the random hook-ups, drugs, and whatever else happened within the walls of the Steel Riders M.C. clubhouse.

  No one forced them to let every male inside fuck them any way they wanted. What kind of woman volunteered for that shit? Didn’t they have any self-respect?

  If he ever had kids, and his daughter even thought about stepping foot inside the clubhouse on a party night, he’d tan her ass then lock her in her room until she was sixty. Hell. Kids. Blaze didn’t even know what to do with a small person, but the thought of a grizzly cub didn’t exactly scare the shit out of him. Maybe he was getting too old for this shit, but his pa had been a member of the Steel Riders until his death at the age of fifty. Blaze had patched in at age seventeen and then taken off for the Navy for a few tours of duty before finally coming home where he belonged.

  Yeah, there’s a clue for you, genius. He died before he was even old enough to collect social security. Do you want to leave your kids fatherless too? He shook his head. Hell, he didn’t know any other way of life. Selling drugs, fixing bikes, stealing cars…he didn’t know how to do anything else. Sit in some stuffy office eight hours a day? Not likely.

  Re-up with the Navy? Hell, he was too old for that shit now. Who the hell would hire him in the civilian world? If his sheer size didn’t intimidate them, his full sleeves and tattooed chest probably would.

  Besides, getting into the brotherhood was a hell of a lot easier than getting out.

  They’d given him time off to serve his country, like he’d been led to do, but getting out permanently? No, if he was lucky enough to find a mate and have cubs, he’d just have to do his best to ensure the darker side of his life didn’t touch them. Fuck. He didn’t even know why he was thinking of this shit. There hadn’t been a steady girl in his life since high school, and even she had been using him. After he’d dumped that

  treacherous bitch, he’d decided it would be a different woman every night. Now he wondered if maybe he’d been wrong to follow that path.

  The door slammed shut behind him and boots trod across the porch. When Flash

  leaned against the rail next to him, Blaze gave him a nod.

  “What the fuck are you doing out here when the party is in there?” Flash asked, pointing toward the door.

  “I don’t know, man. Just didn’t feel like partying tonight.”

  “Must be some heavy shit on your mind if you’re giving up easy pussy and all

  the booze you can drink. But then, I’ve noticed lately that you aren’t your usual carefree self.”

  Blaze snorted. “Carefree?”

  “All right. Bad choice of phrase. But you have to admit, you haven’t been

  yourself lately. You know, if you’re having a problem, your brothers are ready to stand beside you.”

  “It’s not that kind of problem, but thanks. Nice to know you’d have my back.”

  Flash stared out into the darkness. “This have anything to do with Celia? She

  didn’t look too happy when she came back inside tonight.”

  “She’s decided she wants to be my old lady and I’m supposed to be grateful

  some skank wants to use me to climb the social ladder in the clubhouse. I’ve told her to leave me the fuck alone, but she doesn’t seem to be getting the message. I’m sorry I ever fucked her, and if I could take it back, I would.”

  “That your only problem with her?”

  “No one wants to hear what I have to say about Celia. The Pres blew me off and so did the VP. Far as they’re concerned, she’s just a party girl like the rest of them, ready to suck cock and bend over at the crook of a finger.”

  “But you think there’s more to her than that.”

  Blaze nodded. “I think she’s trying to steal from us, at the very least. I caught her in the Pres’ office snooping around and she gave me some bullshit story about trying to find the bathroom.”

  “I’ve been watching her lately, when she thinks no one is looking. There’s a

  coldness in her eyes, as if she’s plotting our destruction. I’ve wondered if a rival club didn’t send her in as a mole. I have to admit, she’s damn good at what she does. Could even be a pro.”

  Blaze regarded him. “Think she might be? Maybe her pimp sent her in to lift

  some cash and drugs. Who would suspect her?”

  Flash grinned. “We would. She definitely needs to be watched.”

  “As long as it’s from a distance.”

  “You and me both, brother. You and me both.”

  Blaze straightened and looked out into the night again. “I think I’m going to get out of here for a while. I have a nice, soft bed at home I haven’t seen in a few days.

  Living at the clubhouse isn’t as fun as it was when I was younger.”

  Flash laughed. “All right, old man. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  Blaze gave him a one finger salute and then clomped down the steps to his bike.

  He was a little relieved to have someone on his side, someone else that saw Celia for the traitorous bitch she was. Now he just had to hope they could do something about her before it was too late.

  Chapter Two

  Luna Sylvestro tucked a wayward strand of hair behind her ear as she locked up the small, public library. They’d been closed for hours, but she’d been so caught up in their latest collection that she’d lost track of time. A shiver ran down her spine as she stared out into the inky darkness, the humid air licking at the back of her neck. She clutched her purse strap tighter, gripped her keys in her hand, and started across the parking lot toward the lone car. Her beat up Toyota mocked her in the black of night, the distance seeming twice as far as it had in the daylight. Sweat trickled from her hairline down the side of her face and she hastily wiped it away.

  She’d always felt safe in the tiny Texas town of Willow Lake, but not anymore.

  Not since the phone calls started. At first, she’d thought it was a prank call, some teen calling and hanging up just to annoy her. Maybe one of the troublemakers that came in after school each week. Then the heavy breathing had started, and later, the whispered word ‘bitch’. As the calls grew darker and heavier, she’d begun to fear for her life. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that her brother had found her. She couldn’t think of anyone else who would intend her harm. It wasn’t like she garnered a lot of hate over book fines or not getting enough copies of the latest popular book.

  Luna had escaped the Desert Dogs M.C. when she was sixteen years old, the

  night she’d heard her brother’s plans for her. She’d huddled in the dark of the porch, terrified of being discovered, as he’d talked to the V.P. about selling her to Black Dagger M.C. President in exchange for enough heroin and cocaine to put them in business for months. Luna wasn’t stupid. She’d seen the Black Daggers President and knew what kind of hell she’d be living if she fell into his hands. It sickened her that she was betrayed by her own brother, but Ricardo had always hated her, even as a small child.

  The night he’d sneaked into her room and
cut off all her hair when she was four, she’d realized there was something cold and dark living inside her big brother, and she’d known even at that tender age to keep away from him.

  It had taken more courage than she’d thought she possessed to get away that

  night. With two changes of clothes stuffed in a backpack, along with a burner phone, she’d slipped out her window while her brother was entertaining the Black Daggers in their living room. It had been risky, but she’d had no choice. At the front of the house, she’d frozen. A large shadow had loomed on the porch and she’d known it was one of them, but the man didn’t stop her. He’d blown out a stream of smoke, chuckled, and in a deep, raspy voice said, “Run, little girl, while you have the chance.”

  Luna had run as fast as her legs would carry her, and gone as far as she could on her own. At a truck stop on the edge of town, she’d managed to hitch a ride with an older truck driver, who’d said she reminded him of his granddaughter. He’d taken her from Phoenix into south Texas and she’d walked the rest of the way into Willow Lake.

  It hadn’t been easy, trying to survive on the streets, but she’d caught a lucky break. The diner had been hiring. Miss Judith had seen the troubled look in Luna’s eyes and taken her under her wing, giving her a cot in the back office to sleep on and paying her cash under the table.

  It had taken a lot of hard work to earn her G.E.D., and even more work plus a lot of student loans to get her degree, but she didn’t regret a moment of it. Miss Judith had given her a chance at a life she could have never experienced if she’d stayed with her brother. But if Ricardo had found her, she was in a lot of trouble. She’d made a fool of him by sneaking away like that, and she’d been gone these last eight years, vanished without a trace, or so she’d hoped. But if he was here, if he was stalking her, it was only a matter of time before he caught her and made her pay.

  Luna slipped into her car, locked the doors, and drove home with one eye on the rearview mirror at all times. No one followed her, but that didn’t ease her worry in the least. If he knew her number, he knew where she worked, and it was only a matter of time before he discovered where she lived—if he hadn’t already. One thing was very clear to her. She either needed some protection, or she would have to leave town, and she really liked Willow Lake. But where would she find a bodyguard? No, she didn’t need a bodyguard. She needed someone who would kill without question, someone