Ruin (Kings of Carnage MC - Prospects Book 1) Read online

  Spade stands to open up a seat for Ryder and then moves behind me to watch my back just like I already know Bear, Mako, Saint, and Crow are doing. This is not something we’ve actually ever talked about; it just comes naturally when the six of us are together. Knowing I have my guys defending me and the Kings behind all of them empowers me to speak with authority and know I can back up anything that has to happen tonight.

  “Ryder, are you aware that two of your guys tried to kidnap one of the Kings’ daughters?”

  “I know you killed two of my guys, breaking the agreement we have.” He sits back in his chair like he doesn’t give a fuck about making this work, which goes all over me and may have sparked a little of my crazy straight to the fucking surface.

  “I sure as fuck did.” I lean forward just to drive this next sentence home. “And I’ll kill a hundred more if I have to.” Hatred flashes in his eyes as he turns his head to size me up. He slowly sits forward in his chair and the tension flows like a wave through every single guy in the bar.

  “They said she’d make a good wall mount for the club.” Rage consumes me. I will fucking murder this guy in front of every man in this room.

  “Sit the fuck back, Ryder.” He lowers his head, but his eyes remain locked with mine. He purposely disobeys Chaos’ order, which doesn’t sit well with me in the slightest. In one swift motion, I sweep his chair with my boot, sending him falling toward me and allowing me to take him into a chokehold from behind and kiss his temple with my Glock. The rest of the bar moves at the same time, the Kings easily over-powering the Hawgs, restraining them and keeping them from making a fatal move. Every King is waiting on my next move.

  “He said to sit the fuck back.” I yank him up by his neck and haul him back into the chair, forcing him to sit back like he was told. My adrenaline is making me stronger than ever.

  His laughter shakes the both of us and for a second, I’m caught off guard. How can anyone be laughing when I’m legit homicidal? I tighten my hold on his neck and move my gun to poke his lap… right on his dick. “You find this fuckin’ funny. Let’s see how funny it is when I ruin you.” The sound of the click silences the room. I can almost feel all the strategies of what to do next flowing through the air.

  “You think killing me will end your problems? It would only be the beginning.” He’s right. I’m not an idiot. I know what I’m doing right now will forever put a target on my back with the Road Hawgs, but I don’t seem to give a fuck.

  I glance up and see the smile on Chaos’ face. I move to Poe’s next and see the same. So, am I the only one not seeing the humorous side to all of this?

  “Ryder… do you remember Viper’s death?” Poe starts talking from across the table and I notice Ryder’s body freeze. His voice is low and if you weren’t right here at this table, the chances are you didn’t hear him.

  No more sharp inhales or exhales to dramatize the chokehold on his neck. He can fucking get air. “Let me just start over… That girl your guys have been after is my daughter.” Poe stands and walks around the table until he’s leaning into Ryder’s face. “If one fucking hair on her head is touched, I will make a single phone call on my way out the door to gut you.” He moves in closer. “Can you guess who I’m gonna call?” This is a little piece of knowledge I’m not privy to. I have no idea who he would call but I give him a nudge as if I know it’s a juicy detail that changes everything.

  Poe claiming Tyra as his daughter in front of another club is a huge step. I’m not sure if it was a good thing or not. Only time will tell.

  “I’ll make sure they all understand.” Ryder’s demeanor flips, but I don’t let up my hold, squeezing more just because I fuckin’ can.

  Poe saunters to his chair and takes back his drink before he slams the empty glass on the table. “Anything else you want to say, Ruin?” Poe puts me on the spot and even through all of this anger, I’m speechless. Is there really anything left to say? I’m not sure what all that was about, but it was enough to make Ryder change his mind about dying today.

  “Now we’re gonna enjoy our drinks before we head back home. You get your guys and leave the bar to us.” I ease my grip on his neck and move my gun off of his junk before leaning over his shoulder to say a few other things. “You’ll need to find a way to bury that ‘Mad Dawg’ of yours and keep us out of your mouth when you explain how he died. Not our problem. Your other guy passed away in a single vehicle accident,” which is true. He nods before he stands to motion to his guys.

  “Your drinks are on us Kings. Everyone relax, and enjoy your allies.” The Kings of Carnage wait for my nod and then they all release whoever they were forcing in place. “Stay as long you’d like.” He motions for the bartender to give him a drink.

  We all know we’re done here for the night. We won’t be taking any more drinks from the bartender or hanging around for them to regroup, if that’s what they plan to do. My demand for them to let us have the bar was just to get them out of here, so we can do what we need to do and get the hell out of here too.

  I’m not sure what kind of leverage Poe holds over Ryder, but it must be good. I wasn’t sure I would make it through part of that ordeal… if someone did that to Chaos, it wouldn’t have ended the same. Putting that much heat on a president with that many of his guys present should start a fucking war, but somehow we managed to get our point across and all walk out.

  There’ll be some follow-up calls and meetings to reinforce the truce with the Road Hawgs, but that’s all for another day. Tonight, I’m going home. I’m driving straight through and not stopping until I can see her.

  The stress falls from my shoulders the second we’re on the road.

  “Stop up here at this hotel.” Poe changes my plans without even asking.

  “Shouldn’t we get the hell out of this town?”

  “Yes. We will. Just stay here and give me like fifteen minutes.” I’ve dropped the guys off like this for a quick fuck, but never Poe.

  My irritation has elevated beyond belief by the time he returns. If he didn’t look like he’d been run over by a truck, I’d give him a piece of my mind. “Let’s get the fuck out of here.” He says it, and I make it happen with a lead foot and the stereo blaring all the way to Uprising.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Tyra

  I didn’t realize how much I missed in life having the mother I had. Seeing Cambri and Leigh laugh and joke with each other is a breath of fresh air, even though it’s strange to hear.

  “Tyra… come and try this.” Leigh calls me to the table to try the cheesecake we made earlier in the day.

  “This is really bad.” I moan around the bite and smile. “Seriously bad!” So good that it’s bad.

  “I know it is!” We’re both shoveling the cheesecake in our mouths when Cambri walks in to make fun of us.

  “Girls, it’s not a race.”

  “Leave us alone. I’m single and sad… and her man is up to God knows what.” My eyes open wide, sending my brows even higher.

  “I don’t have a man.” It’s difficult to speak with a mouth full of cheesecake.

  “Right… I forgot.” Leigh winks at me and Cambri leaves the room. “From what I can tell, my brother really likes you.”

  “What makes you say that?” I try and fail to act nonchalant about wanting to know the answer to my question.

  “For one… he has never… ever… ever allowed a girl into this house and he brought you here to keep you safe. Which brings me to number two. I’ve never seen him get involved enough to worry about someone’s safety.”

  “Well, maybe I’m the first damsel in distress.”

  She laughs loud enough that I’m sure her mother can hear her in the other part of the house. “Hardly. So many have tried it.”

  “I wish safety wasn’t something I needed.” I lower my head to look at my phone, wishing he would text or something, so I’d know he was safe.

  “Oh my god. I forgot to show you this picture of him when he was a kid. It�
�s my job as his sister to make sure you know all the good stuff.” I love how random she is. We were never talking about pictures. She scrolls through her phone for a few minutes and then hands it to me. “Flip through all of those in that album.”

  I’m about three pictures in when a text comes in from Sterling. Respecting privacy is important to me, so I refrain from looking at what he said and hand it back to her. “Oh, you’ve got a message.” My own phone vibrates just as I hand hers over.

  Ruin: I’m coming for you.

  Me: Promises, promises.

  Ruin: How bad do you miss me?

  Me: Ehhh.

  Ruin: Lies

  Me: Oh… your sister has been showing me old pictures of you.

  Ruin: I was cute as fuck. You’ll see.

  Me: How long before you get here?

  Ruin: Five hours or so.

  Looking at the clock, I see that it’s already after ten. That puts him getting here after three.

  Me: I think your mom was making me a bed, so I might be out when you get here.

  Ruin: Perfect. I’ll wake you up.

  He makes me smile and Leigh is finally not too distracted to call me out on it. “See… you’ve got a man. You can’t have a smile on your face like that and not claim him.”

  I don’t try to think about what our status is. I know he’s wanted me since he met me. He’s made sure I’m safe multiple times over and I know that I really like him. But I’m also not naïve to the kind of guy he is and that I’ve been in such a crisis mode that I haven’t had a chance to find a new normal.

  I respond the only way I can honestly. “We’ll see. It’s only been a few days.”

  Ruin’s mom gave me his old room to sleep in and it’s weird seeing so many trophies displayed from his ball playing days. I pick up a few to read his real name engraved. Tyson Brooks. It warms my heart to know he had a decent childhood and maybe isn’t fucked up in the head like some of the rest of us. Come to think of it, I’m not sure that’s all that comforting after seeing what he’s done the past few days.

  His bed feels like heaven, and it doesn’t take much for me to fall asleep.

  As promised, he wakes me up when he climbs beneath the covers behind me… naked, of course.

  “I missed you.” His whisper against my ear feels almost as good as his arms wrapped around me.

  “I missed you too. How’d it go?”

  “We made sure they won’t come for you again.” He sounds exhausted, matching my own energy.

  “Did you kill them all?” It’s a valid question and one I’m almost afraid for him to answer.

  He gives a half laugh before he answers. “No. Just reminded them of an agreement we have in place.” He pulls me back against his chest tighter and slides his arm under my pillow, snuggling in close and making me feel that comfortable spot again where my heart skips a beat or two. “Oh, and Poe claimed you as his daughter in front of our entire club and the other one too. So, you’re off limits.”

  “Off limits to who?”

  “Everyone.” He sounds half asleep with his answer.

  “What about you?”

  “Oh… I don’t count.” And just like that he has me smiling all over again. My father has claimed me and put up an invisible protective blanket to keep me safe and isn’t trying to keep me from seeing Ruin. A week ago, I didn’t even know who my father was, and I sure didn’t have a guy like Ruin in my life.

  I hug his arm against my chest and allow his warmth to put me to sleep knowing things are finally looking up for me in this crazy world.

  I wake up to the smell of bacon filling the room. My stretching doesn’t allow me to come into contact with a naked guy, so I know Ruin is gone from the bed. Is he making breakfast?

  It takes me a few minutes to look alive, but I manage to make my way to the kitchen in search of the smell. I couldn’t eat much last night, so I’m excited when I enter and see Cambri and Leigh putting everything on the table.

  “Good morning.” Cambri hands me a plate and I get right to filling it. I can tell Ruin isn’t around just in a gut feeling, but I have to ask.

  “Good morning. Where’s Ruin?”

  “Tyson had to go to the clubhouse this morning. I’m not sure what they’re up to today.” I don’t allow myself to appear disappointed, even though I was hoping to spend the day with him.

  “He asked me to take you to his house later this morning, said he’d meet you there.” Leigh not only makes me feel better with words, but she hands me the plate of bacon. Obviously she’s on a mission to make me love her.

  Ruin

  Poe summoned me to the clubhouse early this morning and I’ve been sitting outside the Church door since I got here. I know a few of the officers are in there, but I can’t hear what they’re talking about.

  I open my phone to kill some time and flip to the picture I took of Tyra this morning. She was sleeping so peacefully in my old bed and it sucked ass having to slip out so early. Maybe one of these days we’ll get to lock ourselves in and stay in bed all day. I can think of so many things I’d do with her if just given enough time in a single day.

  With everything going on the last few days, I’ve forgotten to check the OnlyFans account to see what we’ve made. I nearly choke when the account comes up and says we’ve earned over two hundred thousand dollars in three days. Holy fuck.

  Bash opens the door, catching me off guard so I swipe my account closed in a hurry like he just caught me looking at porn. He kind of did. “Ruin… come in here.”

  “Have a seat.” Chaos is at the end of the table, Poe sits to his right and Bash takes the seat to his left. These aren’t the seats they sit at normally, so that makes this feel a little less official than when I was first summoned.

  “Poe has told me he’d like to patch you in for not only how you handled the shakedown the other night, but because you’ve also kept his daughter safe and stood up to a club president for her.” Instant excitement rolls through me and I don’t even try to fight the smile that takes over my face. I’m earning me spot without the project even coming into consideration. “He’d like you to lead the prospects. We’ll have to have a vote on it to make it official.” My father is very by the book when it comes to what needs a vote and what he can just say goes.

  “Thank you.” What else can you say to earning this honor? It’s not something you respond to with words… you respond with a life-long loyalty and commitment to the club. That’s the only thing they want to see.

  “I gave you a project a while back… how’s that going?” Having just seen the profits I should be eager to tell them all about it, but for some reason I’m not. “Well… cat got your fucking tongue?”

  “No. I can report that we have profits of over one hundred grand for the club after just a few days, with intentions of making much higher margins in the months to come.” My father tilts his head as I talk like he’s trying to decide if I’m joking or being real. I didn’t share the full amount because I’ll need to pull out some large expenses soon for all the camera equipment we’re going to need to take it to the next level.

  “I haven’t seen you working.”

  “No, sir. You’d have known if you had.” I relish in the inside joke, even if it’s just for a minute.

  “Drugs?”

  “No. Porn.” You know, I imagined the beautiful day that I tossed the big wad of cash down in the middle of this table and proved to my father and his friends that I am capable of doing good things for this club, but now that I’m here… I’m not sure if I’m ready to hear all the shit that is about to come my way.

  “Porn.” All three of them are looking at me, surprised… but still waiting for me to drop the joke bomb on them and then give up the real market we’ve been working in.

  “Son, I don’t know whether to be proud of you or fucking worried about patching your insane ass in.” Bash starts to laugh after Chaos speaks again.

  “Maybe it’ll be easier to decide when I start sending th
e money your way.” It’s a cocky thing to say, but they’re used to that from me.

  “Maybe. Are you going to let us in on your operation details?”

  “So far, it’s just been Spade and I making videos, but Mako, Bear, Crow, and Saint are in the plans to start soon. We’re working out all the video equipment specifics and looking for a good video editor. So far, it’s just been what we’ve been able to do from our phones.”

  They’re all sitting in silence, speechless. Staring at me like I’m fucking crazy. “So, it’s just you guys in these videos?”

  I hesitate on this answer because I know what’s coming. “Nah, there’s girls.” Realization hits Poe dead in the face and I get a little worried that he might explode on me.

  “Tyra?” He asks… and I nod. He closes his eyes and sits back in his seat. I visibly watch his body take a deep breath before he speaks. “You mean to tell me you’ve not only been fucking my daughter, you’ve made her into a fucking porn star?”

  “I’m not sure any of us are at star status but might be on our way to that if things keep going the way they’re going.” Remaining in my seat is difficult as fuck when his chair scrapes the floor and even harder when Poe’s big body is towering over mine. He leans over and places his palms on the table to the left of me before he speaks.

  “You’ll remove all of Tyra’s videos from the Internet. You’ll fucking delete them from existence, and you’ll break off whatever it is you have with her today or I will kill you myself.”

  So many thoughts flow through my head. Fuck your ultimatums. Fuck a club that would force me to stay away from someone I’ve got such a great connection with. Fuck Poe for thinking I’m not good enough for his daughter. Fuck giving the club a dime of the money if Poe’s daughter can’t be a part of making it. Fuck. It. All.

  Fuck it.