BONUS SAMPLE CHAPTER
A VERY MC PICNIC
Sam Crescent MC Special
Sam Crescent
Copyright © 2018
Chapter One
Russell—Russ—Wyatt breathed a sigh of relief when he looked around the large grounds. It had taken over a year to organize this picnic. In fact, each MC had come once before, only to leave with the promise to come back. Of course, he then got messages that they were not coming back. Then he sent out his third and final invitation, at Lewis’s request, and now here they were.
Trojans, Dirty Fuckers, Saints and Sinners, The Skulls, and Chaos Bleeds, all in one place. If he was their enemy, he’d have opened fire on them right now and taken them all out. This was not an annihilation or to push them away but an opportunity to bring them together. Staring out at the garden, he felt Anna come up beside him.
“You okay?”
“It’s like we’ve got four different teams. How can we hope to achieve anything when they won’t even fucking sit close to each other?” He saw The Skulls and Chaos Bleeds sitting together. They were the only two clubs that were in fact chummy with each other. Saints and Sinners looked ready to leave while the Dirty Fuckers were eyeing up the booze and several of the women serving. The Trojans just weren’t interested. Duke held one of his kids in his arms and looked ready to leave any minute. They didn’t have all of their club members here, only a select few of them.
“You couldn’t expect them to actually be ready for this,” Anna said. “They’re clubs. You told me they’re not exactly going to welcome you with open arms.”
“I expected something better than this.”
Anna chuckled. “You’ve got dangerous clubs all under one roof, or should I say within one garden. Each one has their own turf with the belief that no one enters each other’s. Of course, you were going to have conflict, but watch how you break the ice here.”
Russ watched his wife as she moved down toward the table where their son Ryan sat. She stroked his hand before holding it, and he quickly followed as she approached The Skulls. This was not how he’d imagined this trip to be. Russ had been hoping for something really fucking amazing, and instead, he felt the hope of what he wanted to achieve slipping out of his fingers.
He could have demanded each Prez of each MC to a meeting. He was aware of it being done before, especially when Lash took the lead of The Skulls. There had been a sit-down where several leaders had been pissed about the change. Tiny was one of the most feared and respected bikers, so the club being handed over had come as quite a shock.
The Billionaire Bikers MC didn’t have the same respect as the other clubs here today. He didn’t mind what others thought of them. They were not the usual MC image, and neither did they try to be. Their club had been set up to bring ten men together in the hope of helping women in the trafficking world. Mandy, Lewis’s woman, was one of those women, as was Russ’s own. Anna had been taken when she tried to save her friend. He’d found her on the verge of death, and as she got better, their relationship grew.
“Hey, I’m Anna Wyatt, Russell’s wife, and this is our son, Ryan. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” She held out her hand to the dark chestnut-haired woman with the green eyes and pretty smile.
“Angel, it’s a pleasure to meet you. Anthony and Chloe are mine. This here is Lexie. She’s Devil’s old lady.”
Before Russ knew what was happening, the women were chatting. He recognized Holly and Mary from the Trojans also moving closer, introducing their sons and daughters to each other. Before long the stilted silence ceased and the men started to talk to each other. Russ breathed out a sigh of relief, not really sure what he expected to happen, but pleased that it hadn’t ended in bloodshed.
When it came to the Dirty Fuckers he didn’t have to worry. They were known for fucking more than fighting. The others, though, that wouldn’t have ended well for him.
“I owe Jay fifty bucks,” Lewis said, coming up behind him, beer in hand.
“You didn’t think we could pull this shit off?” Russ asked.
“I just saw all of us dead. Our safes taken, women probably taken as well. I don’t know. You’ve got some of the deadliest clubs in one place, and then of course the dirty boys. I don’t know where they actually come in.”
“I don’t want to test them.” Each one of the men from the Dirty Fuckers MC looked deadly. He knew without a shadow of a doubt not to underestimate any of the men in this place.
“No one wants to test them. It’s what makes them so good, and why they still have Greater Falls all to themselves.” Lewis sighed. “This is going to be a long-ass day.”
“If we get what we want, I don’t see this being a problem.”
“I see two clubs helping us, Russ. Don’t get your hopes up, and the only reason we know about them is because of the work they already do.” Lewis patted him on the back.
They wanted to bring more of the MCs together to help them fight against the people who would hurt women, sell them on the street, or place them with the highest bidder. He was sick of the trafficking, and he wanted to do everything he could to shut that dark shit down.
In the years since he brought together the Billionaire Bikers and witnessed firsthand all of the awful things that had been done to these women, Russ struggled to sleep at night. In fact, there were many nights he woke up terrified, and only holding his wife or staring down at his sleeping son helped to put the monsters to bed.
The world they all lived in was full of monsters, and this was his way of trying to chase them away for good.
****
“How do you think we should play this?” Lash asked.
Devil shrugged. “I don’t know. Our women can play the roles of being nice. I’m not interested.” He checked to make sure Lexie was okay. After his last visit, he’d been hesitant to actually come here again.
The Billionaires had gone to a lot of trouble to get them all here. The first invitations had been accepted, and the picnic had been canceled for some reason. Devil had figured that would be the end of it, but then more invitations had arrived some time later. This time he’d showed up, and even called Lexie as it had seemed like an okay deal. Of course, on the way home he’d changed his mind, and once he got home he’d had no intention of coming back. A few weeks later, a new invitation had arrived, this time to Lexie, and his wife had agreed, which was why he was now in the Billionaire Biker territory instead of home. Glancing around him at the splendor and luxury, he wasn’t impressed.
With Lola and Whizz’s help, he’d been able to find out everything there was to know about Russ and his precious little … club. He couldn’t think of that posh fucker being Prez of an MC.
“There’s got to be a reason for all of this.”
Devil rolled his eyes. “You’re not Tiny, so don’t play coy with me, boy. You and I both know what he wants, and we’re on the same side in this.”
Lash smirked. “Just testing you, old man.”
“Fuck off.” It was all right for their women to get along. Devil didn’t have a problem with that, but he wasn’t about to let any fucking man here get the better of him. He saw Duke staring at him. That mean old fucker thought he was so tough because he’d just handed the Abelli their shit. Nah, none of the clubs here knew what true chaos was like or looked death in the eye and laughed. None of them.
The only respect Devil had was for the club standing at his side. The Skulls knew the pain, the loss of heartache, but they also knew when to back down, when not to fight, and the truth was, that was fucking never.
“You’ve got that frowny look on your face. You’re going to scare everyone away if you’re not careful,” Lexie said, coming to his side. She wanted to touch him. He sensed that. His wife always did, but she knew in front of the different clubs that shit wasn’t going to happen. Just like he wouldn’t pull her into his arms or show any weakness. His woman knew without a shadow of a doubt that he would fucking die for her and their kids, no questions asked.
“Be careful when you’re talking to them.”
“This is supposed to be a peaceful get-together. Yeah, well if that ugly-assed looking Trojan keeps checking Angel out, we’re going to have a massacre on our hands. Would you like me to stay peaceful then?” Devil asked.
“This was a bad idea. Really bad idea.”
“You’re telling me.”
Glancing over at the picnic table he saw Simon and Tabitha talking. His son was leaning forward, listening to the music that Tabitha played. Neither of them looked concerned about the potential dangers around them. They were heading into their teenage years, and it was moments like this that he realized his son, his little boy, wouldn’t be a child forever. Of course, Simon would always be his baby boy, but he was going to have to let go all too soon. It doesn’t seem longer than yesterday that he saw Simon in his crib, in that piece of shit apartment block with only Lexie to protect him, and protect him she would.
Anthony walked over to the table where his son was. Lash’s kid was a bit … strange. Devil didn’t like the vibe he got from the boy, not that he was a boy any longer. A few months older than Tabitha, if that.
Their kids were here, their families, and Devil didn’t like it.
“Maybe you could be the big man, and introduce yourself. You know, show them all that you’re not afraid of them.”
“I’m not afraid of them, Lexie.”
“Please, Devil, let’s try to make this as easy as possible. You said Michael wanted you to come here. It could be worth the clubs’ while right now.”
“It may be worth the clubs’ while, but that doesn’t mean I trust anyone there. The Billionaires are fucking posers, but the others, they’re not bound like The Skulls and I are. I will never, ever trust them.”
“Then be on your best behavior, just don’t let them win or see for a second that, you know, you may be a little scared.”
Devil smirked at his woman. She always knew what to say to get him to move his ass. It just so seemed that as he began making his way toward the other MC Prezs they all had the same idea.
He held Lexie’s hand and noticed all the other men’s women were also by their side.
Taking a deep breath, he stopped in the center.
“Well, isn’t this all nice. We’re all meeting here,” Russ said.
“I was intrigued by your invitation,” Duke, Trojans’ MC Prez, said.
“I wouldn’t call this nice,” James, Dirty Fuckers’ MC Prez, said.
They were all just a bucket of fun.
“I don’t know. Unless you bunch of pussies are cowards, I’d say this is a lot of fun,” Lash said, smirking. “In fact, I’m going to take my woman to dance. You want to start shooting shit up, I’ll be ready for you.” He wrapped his arm around Angel, kissing her cheek. “Tell that ugly fucker to keep his eyes away from my wife. I fucking mean it.”
Devil watched as Duke nodded.
“Let’s hope your wife doesn’t look his way. Smash has a thing for other men’s women.”
Lash released Angel and stepped up to Duke. “What the fuck you say?”
“Some women are there to be taken,” Duke said.
Devil was finding this incredibly entertaining, especially as Lash was known for breaking a man’s neck, but then Duke was known for torture. This was indeed a lot of fun.
“Stop enjoying this,” Lexie said.
“It’s a lot of fun.”
“But not if it puts our kids in danger. Be nice.”
****
Tabitha tapped her fingers against her knee, not really interested in the male standoff going on around her. She was used to it because even though Chaos Bleeds happened to be close friends, when they came to town the men were always causing trouble, stirring shit up.
“They should have just said no,” she said.
Anthony chuckled as he watched his father get into Duke’s face. “No one stares at Mom like that and gets away with it.”
“You two are totally enjoying this,” Tabitha said, looking from Simon to Anthony. Rolling her eyes at their look of delight, she clicked onto the next song, not interested in what was going on around her.
“Of course. I mean, look at it, Tabby.” Simon moved from the table in front of her to the chair. His hand was on her leg as he leaned in close. She loved it more than anything when he was near. “There are five clubs here right now, and not one of them has raised their gun.”
“It told them to check guns at the door,” Tabby reminded them both. She didn’t like the luxury that surrounded them.
She loved her home back in Fort Wills. Her parents weren’t millionaire rich, but they were comfortable. At home, she was comfortable, but here she was very much aware of her torn jeans, and the large shirt of her father’s she used to cover her vest top.
“Just because the guns are gone doesn’t mean that they don’t have weapons at their disposal,” Anthony said.
“I can’t wait to see it blow up, man. I mean what stupid fucks thought they could bring in a bunch of MCs and it actually be something good? They all act like they want to kill each other.” Simon laughed.
Tabby disconnected her earpiece and placed it in Simon’s lap. She was here because she had to be, not because she wanted to be. Her mom had asked her to keep her attitude in check, but this was just a nightmare. She could be at home right now instead of here.
“Where are you going?” Simon asked.
“While you both gloat about the possibility of death for all of our families, I’m going to go and sit with Daisy. Excuse me.”
She moved away from them, and saw Daisy sitting in her own little world, reading a book.
“You okay, babe?” she said, dropping down into a chair.
“What is with all the babe stuff lately?” Daisy took a sip from her water and looked toward her.
“I don’t know. Trying something new, I guess. Good book?”
“It’s okay. Lame, boring. Some kind of sappy love shit. Mom loves them.”
Her mom was Lacey, who happened to be one of the few women at the club who couldn’t have kids. Daisy was Tabby’s friend from all the way back in nursery. Daisy’s birth family didn’t love her, but that was okay. Lash, Angel, and her own parents had sorted that out. They were more like sisters than friends.
“Yeah, for all of Lacey’s tough bitch attitude, she loves all kinds of romance.” In fact, she’d even seen her go gooey over Whizz presenting her with a bunch of roses. Sappy kind of shit.
“Why are you here, anyway? Shouldn’t you be with Simon?”
Tabby groaned. “Look at them. They’re losers right now. Waiting to see which club will crack under the pressure. It’s lame.”
“I thought you liked lame?”
“Sometimes. When there’s no risk to me.”
Daisy chuckled. “You can’t have it all your own way.”
“I so can.” Tabby sighed. “I need a drink. You think they spiked the punch?”
“Nope. I don’t see any alcohol here at all. Clearly the Billionaires knew that adding that to the mix was sure to end up in disaster.”
“You want to come over with me?”
“Nope, I’m happy here with my lame book.”
Tabby sighed. “Okay, I’ll bring you back a drink.”
“Make sure it’s fruity.”
Getting to her feet, she made her way past the bikers, each club not bothering her. Being a kid gave her an invisible mark, not that she was invisible. They all knew who she was. She had no doubt that every single guy here knew everything about each other. If not all the members of each clubs, certainly the Prezs. None of these were sloppy.
She found an entire table laden with soda and picked up the orange one. Suddenly thirsty, she opened it up, turned toward the garden, and sipped at it.
“You trying to stay out of the way?” asked a good-looking guy, several years older than she was. He reminded her a little of Drew, so maybe early twenties.
“Not really.” She kept her gaze on him, not wanting to let him see that he made her nervous. She knew all of the Chaos Bleeds and The Skulls kids. She’d made it her business to know them all. This guy or kid, whatever, he wasn’t part of their club, and he didn’t wear a patch either.
“Oh, shit. I’m Matthew, Duke’s kid from The Trojans.” He held his hand out.
Normally she wouldn’t take any other boy or man’s hand, but this guy seemed completely non-threatening.
“Tabitha, Eva and Tiny’s kid from The Skulls.” She shook his hand, making sure he knew she wasn’t any pushover.
She wasn’t a fool. Her mother had told her there would come a time she’d be part of the club, that it wouldn’t always be only men. She also knew The Skulls. She’d be either an old lady or for the rest of her life known as Tiny’s daughter.
Neither of them appealed to her, but that was the way it was.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“Really?”
“Believe it or not, we’re not all here to cause conflict.”
She glanced over at the men, who were acting like a bunch of children. “Could have fooled me.”
She sipped at her orange soda as Matthew stood beside her. He was a lot taller than she was, muscular as well, reminding her of Drew. Thinking about him reminded her once again of home.
“Do you think they’ve done this to laugh at us all?” she said.
“What do you mean?”
“The fancy house, the large garden, the entire mansion that proves they’ve got wealth. The kind that we’ll never have.”
“I don’t know. I think the Billionaires are on a mission, and it’s not to look down on anyone.”
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t trust them?” Matthew asked.
“If you were really a Prez’s son, you shouldn’t either.”
“You’re a little young to be this … pessimistic.”
Tabitha thought about the beating she’d gotten years ago. She’d been just a kid then as well, and she’d experienced many hospital trips herself all because of some rift or another. “When you grow up in The Skulls, you’ve got to learn to take care of yourself. There are always enemies lurking around to take their place. Don’t think for just a second that because this is peaceful that it will remain so.” She grabbed a grape soda. “Excuse me.”
She made her way across the garden, aware of Simon’s eyes on her. He was always watching her, and she loved it. Glancing over at him, she saw the jealousy in his eyes, and rolled hers.
Taking a seat beside Daisy, she handed her a soda.
“Who was the hottie you were speaking to?”
“You saw that.”
“Simon was foaming at the mouth.”
Tabitha smiled. “Matthew. Trojans’ boy. Seemed kind of nice.”
“I wish someone would look at me the way Simon does you. Whenever he’s around, he’s always following you.”
Tabitha looked toward Anthony. Her friend was playing it cool, but she was more than aware of who he was watching. “You’d be surprised.”
End of sample chapter