Kage

It’s already dark when we reach the clubhouse of Peril’s End MC. There are always two guards near the gate and today is no different. I can sense Tamar freezing up, so I reach over and squeeze her knee.

“Relax. I’ve known these guys for over sixteen years. Even the world fucking up doesn’t matter to them. And if we weren’t nomads, this is where we’d be living permanently. Felix, the President of this MC, might look like he rips puppies to shreds, but the truth is, he’s got hordes of those fluffy fuckers in his own bed and will sleep on the floor himself. That’s how he is. Just never tell him I said that.” When I’ve told her that little detail she snorts and shakes her head and I continue filling her in on the details.

“I know it’s hard to believe but all the brothers have golden hearts, each and every one of them. When Gil’s mother—Gil’s the Vice President—needed to be placed in a retirement home, those guys took it to the table and decided that they would build apartments out back so they could watch over the elderly themselves. There are also a few women who help out but aren’t in a relationship with anyone, yet they are under the protection of the club.” I glance to the side and see Tamar raise her eyebrow in question.

Shit. Bad choice of words…or too much information, but I hope Lars is giving Dessa the same talk to explain some of the things.

“It’s all about keeping order and making shit work. They make it work. All of them. And with the world going to shit, they’ve rounded up the old folks and take care of them, sharing the solar energy they produce. They’re not selfish like that fucker Huntington. Peril’s End MC takes care of their own, as well as others who need it.” Shutting down the truck, I make sure to raise my hands so they can see me.

Tamar mimics me as two men stalk toward us with a flashlight aimed right at us, along with the barrel of their guns. I recognize one of them and seeing that I’ve already got the window down, I make sure he knows it’s me. “Hugo, it’s been awhile, man.”

“Kage, is that you?” Hugo lowers his gun slightly.

“Yeah, Ramon is in the truck behind me and Lars is on my bike.” I point my thumb over my shoulder and add, “We’ve brought four friends, two guys, two women. One of those is Tamar, my Old Lady, sitting right next to me.”

“Old Lady, Kage?” Hugo says in awe. “Daaaaamn, man. For real? Come on, drive on through the gate, park the vehicles so we can pat you guys down and then we can have some booze to celebrate.”

I drive through and another brother guides me to the spot where they want us to park. Ramon parks right next to me and Lars makes sure to follow directions like we’re used to. To someone else, it might seem hostile to be patted down and held at gunpoint, but these guys just want to make sure nothing harms their people. And in this day and age, it’s good to have this kind of protection. Even if it’s just me, Lars, and Ramon. We would still get that pat down. Hell, even if the Prez himself leaves the compound he’ll get checked. It’s just a rule that’s set in stone.

It takes a few minutes before all of us stroll into the main clubhouse. It’s a large room with a bar in the corner, and a row of cabinets behind it, which are always locked. The room is lit with a lot of candles and there’s a large fireplace in the middle of the room, with rows of booths along the walls. It lets people have their privacy while maintaining just the one room and saving the resources, instead of having to heat multiple rooms.

“Kage,” Felix bellows and jumps out of a booth, heading straight for us.

It’s been a while since we’ve seen each other. My brothers and I always used to drive from one place to the other between different Charters of Peril’s End MC. This was always a safe place to crash, even before this world went to shit. That’s the good part of being a nomad and a bounty hunter.

“Prez.” I nod and slap the good man on his back. “Good to see you. Oh, fuck. Felix. Meet Tamar, my Old Lady.”

“Old Lady?” Felix’s grin explodes as he takes my woman’s hand in both of his. “Welcome to Peril’s End.”

I can’t help the growl that rumbles through my chest. That fucker has always been quite the ladies’ man. Never settling down. Well, mostly because taking on an Old Lady is a risk for him. She would become a target for rival MC’s or anyone else wanting to strike where it will hit hard.

I used to respect him for that, although right now, with me having an Old Lady, I’d gladly leave that ‘open road of freedom to ride whatever pussy’ behind me. Because what I have with Tamar is something he’s missing out on. I can clearly see the loneliness and craving flash in his eyes before it’s gone, though his seductive smile has yet to disappear, making the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.

“Okay, you can let go now,” I growl, aware the fucker is doing it just to ruffle my feathers.

Tamar chuckles and pulls her hand away. She steps closer to me and wraps her arm around my waist while snuggling tight against my body. Fuck. If she’s trying to soothe the beast inside, she’s doing a damn fine job. Except she’s awakening other body parts I don’t need awake right now in a room filled with others.

“Ah, who’s this we have here?” Felix directs his husky tone toward Dessa.

“Mine,” Lars snarls, making Dessa gasp.

“I am not yours.” Dessa steps away from Lars and defensively crosses her arms in front of her chest, glaring at Lars whose got Felix pinned with a deadly look.

Felix gives him a tight nod in understanding. With us, there’s no need for the woman to say anything. When a brother has spoken his claim, it’s an all hands-off thing. Respect runs deep in our MC.

“Can we talk privately? I need to discuss something with you, the VP, my Old Lady, and that guy over here.” I grab Cashwell and pull away the bandana and scarf we gave him so people wouldn’t recognize him at first sight. Felix however starts to curse. Yeah…he knows damn well that I was hunting him and why.

“Head on over to church.” Felix looks over his shoulder and whistles. “Gil. Church, right fucking now.”

My eyes meet Lars and after that Ramon. They both give me a tight smile and make sure Virgil and Dessa follow them to a booth so they can wait while we fill in the other guys.

It takes over two hours of explaining, first me and Tamar, then Cashwell had to ramble three times because the first two versions were a lot of details we all don’t know shit about. By the time we’re done, Felix has four of the brothers in this MC riding in different directions, reaching out to other Charters so we can round up a lot of manpower to face Huntington head on.

Right now, though, we’ll need to wait for at least a day, maybe two. Fuck. Shit was so easy back when it just took one phone call and we’d have a hundred brothers standing behind us within the hour. Instead, we’re stuck riding hours and hours to fill them in and then have hours and hours of riding back.

Hell, I don’t know if Cashwell can start things up again. But even if he can’t get it all back to normal, it’d be damn amazing to have lights instead of candles, a hot bath instead of a cold washcloth, and hell yeah, whatever else we can get back from the old days when power was as easy as flipping on a light switch, or pressing a button to make coffee, because there wasn’t any other damn thing you needed in the morning.

Felix slaps me on the back. “Brother, you did good. This morning when I woke up I would’ve never have believed this was even slightly possible.”

“Yeah, well don’t whip out your cock till the pussy is all wet and puffy before you slide home.” I chuckle.

Felix shakes his head. “I know, man. We’ve still got a long way to go, but that little light at the end of the tunnel is fueled by energy, man. I can fucking feel it.”

“As long as Nyles Huntington goes down,” I growl.

“Fuck, yes,” Gil agrees. “Our brothers will be here soon so we can go over the plan.”

We all walk out of church and head for Virgil, Dessa, Lars, and Ramon, who climbs out of the booth when they see us. Tamar slides a hand to cover her mouth but I can tell she’s hiding a yawn. No wonder as we’d been up fucking most of the night before.

“Can you show us to a few rooms so we can crash?” I direct my question toward Felix who raises his chin to Gil.

“We’ve got three rooms in the hallway on the left that are vacant. Will those do?” Gil asks.

Damn. That’s perfect. “Me and Tamar will take one. Ramon,”

“Dessa, you’re with me. Ramon, Virgil, Cashwell, you three take the other room.” Lars grabs Dessa’s upper arm and guides her to the room Gil is pointing at.

I can tell by Dessa’s rigid features she’s anything but happy with how Lars is acting. Although she doesn’t fight him. When I glance at Tamar I can see she’s laughing on the inside while her eyes are enjoying the play between my brother and her sister.

I wrap my arm around my woman’s waist and head in the direction of our room for the night, thankful we’ve got a safe and warm roof over our head. One with a nice bed and my woman right here next to me.