He certainly didn't want it.
When I'd followed him home after the vote, he cursed me out, threw a bottle at me as I pulled up behind him in the driveway, the glass shattering into a million pieces before I revved the engine and sped away.
Fuck Axe.
I had a right to be happy, to live my life. I had a right to love Dani.
But it still nagged me.
"Have you checked in with Benicio?" I asked Dani.
She nodded. "Yeah," she said. "He said everything was a-ok. Are you going to tell me why you wanted him to keep an eye on Axe? I don't believe for a second it's because Axe has been drinking more. He's been doing that for a while now, and he hasn't killed himself yet."
"Not now," I said. "Right now, everything's just fine." I motioned for her to join me in the hammock, pulled her tight against me.
"Right now, we're exactly where we should be."
This book is a work of fiction. Any similarity to real events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. All characters are over the age of 18.
All rights reserved. This book may not be reproduced or distributed for commercial or non-commercial purposes, either in printed or electronic format, without the permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations used for review purposes.
All quotations used in book are part of public domain works or translated copies existing in public domain.
Warning: This book contains mature content, including graphic sex, language, and violence. Please do not continue reading if you are under the age of 18 or if this type of content is disturbing to you.
Part One: Homecoming
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Part Two (Reconciliation)
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Part Three (Vengeance)
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Epilogue (Salvation)
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To my husband, who taught me what it means to be "barn sour".
To my darling Emma, the light of my life - I love you bigger than the whole giant world.
To my readers, who have been so gracious in their encouragement.
And, finally, to all who serve in the armed forces and the families who support them. We owe you more than we could possibly repay.
HOMECOMING
Midway Upon the Journey of Our Life
I Found Myself Within a Forest Dark,
For the Straightforward Pathway Had Been Lost.
~ Dante's Inferno, Canto I (Longfellow's translation)
September 2010
Axe
I stood over the lifeless body, my fists clenched so tightly I could barely feel my hands. The only thing left now, the only thing I felt, was rage, pulsing through my veins. The Inferno Motorcycle Club had taken everything from me - my soul, my honor...
And now this.
Mad Dog had taken everything from me. But nothing they had done before would compare to this.
This eclipsed everything else.
They would pay. He would pay.
I would burn the club to the ground.
I would kill them all.
June 2010
West Bend, Colorado
Axe
My heart rate finally began to slow when I saw the “Welcome to West Bend” sign. It had been racing since we left Las Vegas, adrenaline pumping through my veins, all of my senses on high alert. It had been a while since I’d felt this way, especially given my past. Five combat tours would make you pretty much immune to anything. This, though - on the run, sabotaged by my own club, by the man I’d been protecting for the last few years? Hauling ass from the scene of an ambush? I wasn’t sure if it was fear or anger that had my heart nearly thumping out of my chest. Probably a mixture of both. Betrayal would do that to you.
West Bend, Colorado was home, and it felt safe, even if it wasn’t really. Safer, maybe, at least temporarily. But certainly not safe, not with the trouble I was in, the trouble I was about to bring to the town. You couldn’t tell that to my body, though; my response to my hometown was a visceral one. Love for this place was written into my DNA. It was part of who I was, even if who I was had gotten so far off track in recent years that even I didn’t recognize myself anymore.