Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Epilogue
PROLOGUE
July
21 months to Mancuso’s downfall
Jeremy
I NEVER FEEL more at home than I do right here on Forsaken land. The black vinyl inserts in the high-as-hell chain link fence that surrounds the compound have the word FORSAKEN painted across them in ten-foot high white lettering. Everywhere they can, the club’s marked this property. Even if one day Forsaken no longer calls this spot home, their mark will remain. After a small fire that was started, due to no fault of my own, Dad and Jim had to repair and repaint one of the picnic tables. They knew how it started, and instead of laying into me, Dad gave me a knife and told me to mark that table as my own. Beneath the table top, in the fucked up scratch marks of a seven-year-old’s handiwork, is JEREMY WAS HERE. I don’t get to come by as often as I’d like, but every chance I get, I sit at that table. In a way, it makes me feel closer to my dad. I’d go there now, but there’s a crowd around my table watching two of the brothers fight it out.
Nobody’s paying attention to me, which is the way I like it. People pay too much attention and they start asking questions. I slip past the crowd and around to the line of Harleys backed up against the fence. There’s really no order to the way the brothers park in the lot except that they try to make it as easy as possible to get out in a moment’s notice. I don’t recognize all the bikes here. Some of them are familiar, like Ryan’s bike that he’s had custom painted with obsessive detailing that nobody else seems to see but him. Next to Ryan’s bike, on the very end, is Duke’s. Duke patched in before Dad went to prison, and he’s always been good to me. I like the guy and all, but his bike is boring as shit.
I scan the crowd and find the fight is still going on. Taking advantage of the moment, I run my hand along the gas tank of the black Harley. I’d really like to get my hands on Ryan’s bike, but he has this thing about people’s asses and his dick, so I’ll just stay over here with Duke’s. Duke won’t say it because he’s Forsaken and he’s not a fucking pussy, but I know he lets me hang around the clubhouse because of my sister, Nic. Even before they hooked up, he let me do shit I know Dad would beat me for. Usually I’ll just casually ask him if he’s seen Nic anywhere like I’m there for her. I think he caught on that I was full of shit at some point, but as long as I feed him information, he lets me hang out. He even had a Lost Girl show me how to properly feel up a chick once. That was pretty badass.
The seat of Duke’s bike is worn. Its cracks show a seat that has seen a lot of miles with its rider. Dad says when he gets out he’s going to hook me up and get me a bike. I can’t wait. More than anything, I just want to learn how to ride. I want to earn my cut and sit in Church with these guys. Dudes like me, who don’t know shit about books and fucking hate math, only got a few choices in life. But even if I was book smart, I’d still want this. The brotherhood is deeper than family and survives shit most relationships never could. I know my sister loves me, and she does the best she can, but I don’t think I’ll ever really know my father and feel like I belong somewhere until I’m one of his brothers. I lower myself onto the seat of the bike and lean up against it. I know better, and I don’t care. For just a moment, I want to know what this feels like.
There’s noise from the crowd. Grady, the club’s sergeant at arms, is breaking up the fight. After a few choice words, he zeroes in on Nic. I can’t hear what he’s saying, but I regret trying to figure it out the moment she eyes me on Duke’s bike and gives me that parental chin nod she’s been practicing, telling me to get off. I stand from my position on the bike and take a step forward to appease her. Shit. She’s not going to let this go later. She never lets anything go.