Gunner (Silver Shadows MC #4)

Chapter One

Gunner

January 2025

Sitting at the bar, my whiskey untouched in front of me, I watched the room. It wasn’t my night to be at The Queen’s Diamond, the bar in town. But I was here most weekends.

When Jack’s old lady Sam ended up in the hospital after some prick roofied her at this very bar, the Silver Shadows came up with a plan to have brothers sitting here on the weekends, watching over the patrons.

We wanted the women in town to be safe. They had a right to go out and have a drink without having to worry about being raped. But the real reason we were here instead of drinking at the clubhouse was to catch the son of a bitch who was doing it.

For months now, there had been reports of women being drugged at the bars in the towns surrounding Diamond Creek. When it happened here, to an old lady no less, it was time for us to step in.

We weren’t a large club compared to many around the country. Hell, we weren’t even large compared to the Mother Chapter in Arkansas, so we didn’t have the manpower to put brothers in bars all over this side of the state.

However, when it edged into our town, you could be damn sure we would put a stop to it.

Looking around, my eyes landed on one brother who had no business being here tonight.

Or any night right now.

Cash sat at a table in the corner, a bottle of whiskey in front of him. I had taken him off the roster because he couldn’t stay sober.

It had only been a week since his old lady died, and we all felt her death. No one knew she was sick. Well, sick wasn’t the right word. She’d had an aneurism in her brain that burst. No one had known. She hadn’t told anyone, and no one knew why.

Even Ryder, who was the closest thing she had to family, hadn’t known. That might have been the only thing that kept Cash from killing him when he signed the papers to donate her organs.

Rachel listed Ryder as her next of kin. I had my own theories as to why, but in the end, it didn’t matter. Rachel made her own decisions for her own reasons, and they should be respected.

Cash had been drinking since the day we buried her. Which was why he shouldn’t be here tonight.

“Hey, Gunner.”

Turning to Grace, I smiled.

“Hey, babe. How long’s he been here?” I asked, tipping my head toward the corner.

Grace turned and flashed a pained look at Cash. “A few hours.”

“How many bottles?”

“Only that one. I told him that was the only one he was getting,” she said with a sigh. Turning back to me, she asked, “Why wasn’t he taken off the schedule?”

“Schedule?” I asked, confused.

She gave me a look that said, ‘ Do I look stupid?’

Silently cursing King, I relented. “We took him off the schedule, but King ordered the prospects to monitor his drinking, and since Cash can’t outrank King, I assume that’s why he came here.”

I should have known Grace would figure out what we were doing. King underestimated her, thinking she wouldn’t notice a sudden uptick in how often a brother was here. Usually, Johnny the prospect was the only one here on the nights she worked.

“If you want to call someone to come get him, I can knock him out,” she offered with a sparkle in her eye.

I knew what she meant.

Hell’s Inferno.

It was a whiskey distilled in Virginia by the Sons of Hell MC. To say it packed a punch wouldn’t even come close.

I looked back at my brother and wondered if it was worth it.

“He’ll get a good night’s sleep.”

Running my hand over my face, I watched as Cash lifted the bottle to his lips. A woman sauntered over to him and ran her hand up his arm. He grabbed it before she reached his elbow.

I saw the moment he went too far.

“Call Tank,” I growled, standing from my stool and rushing to the corner booth. My hand slammed down on Cash’s shoulder, the one connected to the hand holding the woman’s wrist a little too hard.

“Easy, brother,” I whispered in a tone that said, ‘Don’t test me.’

As the sergeant at arms in the club, I had earned the respect of my brothers. Both through my position, and my take-no-bullshit attitude when it came to protecting my brothers.

Sometimes from themselves.

Even through the haze of alcohol, he knew I wasn’t playing. Cash looked up at me and let the woman go. Without removing my hand, I turned to the woman.

“Sorry, darlin’. Go get a drink at the bar. Tell the bartender to put it on my tab.”

The woman looked at me, then back at Cash. The fear in her eyes I saw when I first walked up was now replaced with sympathy. Her lips parted like she wanted to say something but decided against it. Instead, she turned on her heel and walked to the bar.

She spoke to Grace, and when Grace looked over at me, I nodded, letting her know it was ok.

With my hand on Cash’s shoulder, I squeezed. “What the fuck was that?”

“Didn’t ask to be touched. Bitch should have kept her hands to herself.”

I stared at my friend.

Cash and I prospected at the same time. He was nineteen, and I was twenty-one. We were both looking for something and found it in the Silver Shadows.

He was looking for adventure, he told me. Something that would get his blood pumping. Add some excitement to his life.

Cash’s parents were an older couple when they had him. Lived in a middle-class neighborhood, worked middle-class jobs, and provided a nice middle-class life.

My parents were the opposite. I had plenty of adventure growing up, plenty of excitement. Just not the good kind.

What I had was the kind that had you sleeping with one eye open while you protected your little sister from predators your parents let into the house so they could get high.

I had lived my whole life around drugs, sex, and killing. Joining the MC hadn’t changed that fact. The only reason I joined the Silver Shadows was to protect my baby sister. She was thirteen when I joined. I rented an apartment and moved her into it.

My parents hadn’t even noticed.

I thought I could keep my club life separate from my sister. And I did for a while. Until one day after she graduated from high school, when she showed up at the clubhouse to tell me she’d gotten into the college of her choice.

She didn’t want to wait, she said.

That day, I caught one of my brothers pinning her in a corner, groping her. I beat the shit out of him and then cut ties with my sister. I sent her off to college, which I paid for, but I didn’t have contact with her. She was better than this life. It had been ten years since I’d seen her.

This life was hard. Especially on the women.

I ripped the bottle from Cash’s hand, signaling to Grace.

“What the fuck? Give that back!” He growled.

“Not gonna let you sit here and drink yourself to death.”

“Fuck you, Gunner.”

Grace slipped in and set a glass of amber liquid down in front of Cash. “Don’t worry, Cash, I’ve got you.”

She winked at me and strolled back to the bar.

Cash grabbed the glass and with a smug grin, took a sip.

“Fuck, that burns!”

I shook my head at him. He didn’t seem to mind the burn as he took another drink.

I sat beside him and waited.

By the time his glass was empty, Big Ben and Tank had arrived. They walked in the door and looked around. Catching my nod, they made their way to where we sat.

“Take him home.”

“Not fuckin’ goin’ home.”

“Yes, you fuckin’ are.”

Why I was arguing with a drunk was beyond me.

I yanked him from his seat and pushed him toward Tank, who grabbed his arm and placed it over his shoulders. Big Ben grabbed his other arm and did the same.

“Getcha fuckin’ hands off me!”

“No can do, brother. Prez’s orders,” Tank told him.

“Fuck King.”

“Yea, I don’t think you’re the one he wants to fuck,” I said, slapping him on the back. Turning, I instructed, “Put him in a spare room, not his.”

Tank nodded, and he and Big Ben dragged him out of the bar and back to the clubhouse.

I followed them outside to make sure he didn’t give them any shit before they loaded him up. They didn’t bother with the back seat, just tossed him into the back of the SUV they brought.

I waved as they drove out of the parking lot.

One problem settled, for tonight anyway.

I’d have to talk to King about Cash and see what we could do. The brother needed help. He couldn’t go on like this.

The day of her funeral was a shit show. Things hadn’t gotten any better in the time since.

A somber sky, heavy with gray clouds and a persistent drizzle, reflected the day’s melancholy mood. As we stood at the graveside, our final goodbyes choked with grief, the cold raindrops mirrored our collective sorrow.

Cash stood at her grave. A blank expression on his face.

No tears, no pain, no anger, nothing.

When the service was over, we walked somberly into the clubhouse, and Grace went behind the bar and started pouring shots. Rachel loved her tequila. We would toast to her. Celebrate the short time we had her in our lives.

But Cash had a different idea.

“Brandy! Come here, babe. Let’s go.”

Brandy walked over, putting her arm around Cash. “Go where?”

He smiled. “My room.”

We all stood there.

None of us believed what we were hearing, let alone seeing.

Brandy pulled back.

“Sorry, Cash.” She twisted away from him and walked to the bar.

“Tiff! You’re up.”

“No thanks.” Tiffany walked over and curled into Winchester’s arms.

“Jade? Amber? Come on, ladies, I’m available now. Here’s your chance.”

Jade sat at the bar watching him. She shook her head and turned back to Grace. Amber lifted Tabby in her arms and gathered Chrissy and Charlie and left the room.

“Well, Crystal. Guess that just leaves you.”

Crystal jumped at the chance, running over to Cash, rubbing her tits against his arm.

“Let’s go, baby.”

King blocked his path to the hallway.

“Crystal! Get the fuck off him!” King growled.

“But, King, he asked—”

“I don’t give a fuck what he asked. Get the fuck off him now! He is off-limits.”

Crystal backed away with a pout.

“What the fuck, King? When did it become the president’s job to cockblock a brother?”

Ryder fumed.

I watched as his nostrils flared and his hands fisted at his side. He was set to go off. When he took a step, Blade stepped in front of him, his hands on his chest. “Easy, brother.”

Cash must have noticed, because he turned and sneered at Ryder.

“Something you wanna say, asshole?”

“CASH!”

Cash ignored his president and stepped toward Ryder.

I intercepted his advance, pushing him back.

“Not the time or the place, brother.”

“Fuck you, Gunner. This is fucking long overdue.” He stepped forward again, and I shoved him back.

“Don’t make me do something I don’t wanna do.”

“Oh? Like him letting those assholes cut my woman up? Farmed her out like a goddamn auto parts store?”

“Fuck you, Cash! You didn’t fucking know her if you think that was my decision.” Ryder pushed against Blade.

“She was my fucking old lady. She didn’t belong to you!”

“She was my fucking sister!” Ryder screamed as Blade and Jack held him back.

“ENOUGH!” King bellowed.

It’d been tense since that day. Ryder steered clear of the clubhouse as much as he could. Though Cash was rarely sober enough to notice who was there and who wasn’t.

The only time they were together was during church, where we kept them on separate sides of the room.

Walking back into the Diamond, I spied the woman still sitting at the bar. Taking my stool, I watched her. She was beautiful and tiny. Her long dark hair was pulled into a braid that sat over one shoulder. Standing next to her at Cash’s table, I noticed the top of her head didn’t quite reach my chin.

She smiled at something Grace said, and my gaze dipped from the crinkle that framed her eyes to the dimple that appeared in her cheek. Her lips parted in a laugh I couldn’t hear over the noise in the bar, and I had to force myself to stay where I was and not move closer.

I was here for a reason, and it wasn’t for pussy. Though I couldn’t help but wonder how sweet hers was. Cash had been her target, and despite how pretty she was, I had no desire to be her consolation prize.

She must have felt my eyes on her because it wasn’t long before she looked over and, without thinking, I winked.

Her eyes dropped to the bar, and I saw her blush.

I cursed the darkness of the bar. I wanted to see the pink color I knew was rising on her neck, coloring the dimple that had caught my eye.

Grace whispered something, and the woman nodded. She took a deep breath and turned. Grabbing her drink, she left her spot at the bar and walked over to mine.