Deviant (Iron Rogues MC #7)

Chapter 1

1

DEVIANT

I rubbed my tired eyes and leaned back in my chair, wincing at the loud screech from the hinges. The chair was old as fuck, but it was damn comfortable, and considering how many hours I spent sitting in front of my computer, I probably should replace it.

Glancing at the Qinux Titan PG smartwatch on my wrist, I double-blinked at the time.

Shit, I’d been working all day without a break and hadn’t even noticed. Not that it was much of a surprise. When my motorcycle club, the Iron Rogues, needed something that involved tech or hacking, they counted on me. I’d always excelled at pretty much anything that involved computers, then I’d spent years in Army intelligence. If someone could be found, I’d be the one to do it.

My phone rang, and I leaned forward in my seat to grab it off the desk. Jay, my older brother’s name lit up the screen, so I swiped to take the call. “Deviant,” I answered.

“Hey, Grady.”

I rolled my eyes but pressed my lips together so I wouldn’t take the bait he’d dangled in front of me. Jay had no problem with my choice to be an enforcer for the Iron Rogues, but he refused to call me by my road name. Simply because he knew I hated to be called by my given name, Grady, and as was the case with most “little” brothers—no matter how old you were—he could often get a rise out of me. Which was fucking hilarious to him.

And since he was my brother by blood rather than oath, I’d be on our mother’s shit list if I kicked his ass.

“What do you need?” I grunted.

“Can’t a brother just call to say hi?”

“He could,” I replied, then waited.

After a second, Jay snorted a laugh. “Fine. I need a favor.”

“If Kensley wants to invite me to another ‘dinner with friends,’ you’re just gonna have to pay her lip service to get me the fuck out of it.” My sister-in-law was awesome, and I loved her, except when she tried to be sneaky and set me up on a blind date. She was complete crap at subterfuge, though, so the nights I was talked into coming over for dinner with some “friends” started out as awkward as they ended.

“No problem,” Jay quipped, his tone disgustingly smug. “My baby will agree to pretty much anything when I’m lic?—”

“Fucking hell, Jay!” I shouted, cutting him off before my ears started bleeding. “I don’t want to know anything about your sex life.”

“You brought it up.”

“What do you need, Jay?” I snapped, bringing us back to the point of the phone call.

“I got caught up at work, and Kensley is visiting her sister an hour away. Can you pick up Cara?”

A wide grin spread across my face at the mention of my niece. She was the most adorable little girl on the fucking planet, and she had me wrapped tight around her tiny little fingers.

“Sure.”

“Thanks. I owe you dinner. In fact, Kensley wanted me to invite?—”

I hung up.

The Iron Rogues clubhouse sat on a large lot that was mostly obscured by a small town. Some MCs had a single massive plot of land with a huge clubhouse where most of the patches had a room, and often, their businesses were attached to it.

However, when IRMC was incorporated, the prez and VP already owned several of the businesses in town, as well as the buildings and empty land around them. So they’d bought up nearly all the rest of the area and basically created a sort of compound out of it. There weren’t as many rooms in the clubhouse, so a lot of patches—and prospects—lived in the MC-owned apartment buildings. Others bought plots from the club and built homes within our territory.

Jay and I had always been tight, and when I patched with the Iron Rogues, he decided to move his family here. Our mom quickly followed, and she lived in a retirement community in the next town.

Since I had a fuck ton of servers and other intense shit, I’d bought a house a few blocks from the clubhouse. But I often worked in my office here as well, especially when working on sensitive club business. So I kept a room here too in case I needed to crash for a few hours.

After shutting down my equipment, I grabbed my wallet and keys, then I meandered out of my office and down the hall to the large kitchen.

Maverick—the Iron Rogues vice president—cradled his sweet 7-month-old daughter, Luna, in his arms while leaning down to kiss his old lady, Molly.

“Get a room,” I grunted.

Mav swung his head in my direction and smirked. “Already got one.”

“Use it.”

“Oh, we do. All the fucking time. Don’t we, baby?” He grinned down at his wife, whose face was as red as her curly hair.

One corner of my mouth lifted in amusement as I shook my head and made my way to the refrigerator. “Emailed some info to you and Fox about ten minutes ago,” I told him as I plucked an apple from the fridge and grabbed a cold bottle of water.

Fox was the MC president and had the last word on everything, but he and Mav basically ran the club together.

“Location?” he asked.

Molly smiled at me and gave a little wave before she turned and went to the kitchen counter, where she chopped vegetables. She was likely cooking the coming meal, which would feed any and all patches, prospects, old ladies, and kids who wanted to eat here.

Mav grinned at her and smacked her ass before strolling over to me. I appreciated Molly’s respect for the club life, stepping away so Mav and I could discuss club business. Several of my brothers had married in the past year and a half, and their women had fit easily into our life. We all liked and respected them, but as Iron Rogues old ladies, we would also die to protect any one of them and their kids.

I gave Mav a quick rundown on the extensive dossier I’d sent him, and we talked strategy for a few minutes while I demolished my snack.

“If you or Fox have more questions, just shoot me a text. I have to go pick up Cara.”

Mav grinned. “Damn, that kid is cute. She’ll be breaking hearts one day.”

I scowled and crossed my arms over my chest. “Gonna have to buy Jay a gun and tell him to lock her in a tower or some shit.”

Laughter burst from Mav until I looked pointedly at his little girl. The amusement died immediately, and he growled, “I’ll build one here on the compound.”

It was my turn to laugh as I walked out of the kitchen and made my way to the garage. I took my hog home and switched it out for my Wrangler.

Since I’d be transporting precious cargo, I took my Jeep. There’d been a car seat in the back since the day my little Carebear was born.

I lifted my chin at a few people as I drove down Main Street before turning on another road that led to the local preschool.

Once I was parked, I ambled up to the front door and pressed the doorbell. The staff all knew me, not just as an Iron Rogues enforcer but also as Cara’s uncle, so the door buzzed immediately, and I entered the small lobby.

“Hey, Deviant,” Nora greeted me as she walked out of her office carrying a stack of binders. “Cara should be here in a few minutes. I called for her when I saw you pull up.”

“Thanks,” I replied with a nod. Nora was the manager of the preschool and daycare. She was also the sister of an Iron Rogues old lady, Stacey. She and her man, Tank, had been around since Fox’s and Mav’s dads founded the club.

Nora handed the binders to a young girl, who tossed a weird smile in my direction before scurrying to the other side of the check-in desk. Ignoring the odd feeling I got from her, I returned my attention to Nora and asked about her fiancé, who was finishing up his last tour of duty with the Marines.

A minute later, my attention was snagged by the delicious scent of orange and cinnamon. My mouth watered, and my eyes immediately sought out the source. Before I could figure it out, a little blond ball of fluff was racing toward me. I dropped down onto my haunches and opened my arms wide to catch her as she threw herself at me.

I teased her for a moment, then Nora got called away, and I turned my attention to the woman who’d brought Cara to the front.

She was fucking gorgeous.

Oddly, I had no idea who she was. She had to have been new because I’d done a thorough background check on every employee at the care center before we allowed any of them near our kids.

But the last time Nora had needed to scope out a candidate, I’d been knee-deep in the club’s current problem. I’d asked a favor from the security firm owned by one of the enforcers for the Silver Saints, an MC we were allied with since Maverick and Fox were both married to daughters of the president.

My eyes swept her from head to toe, admiring her curves and fantastic rack. She had long, straight, dark red hair and twinkling brown eyes. Along with her pale skin, both those features seemed to bring out the adorable freckles sprinkled across the bridge of her nose.

She was cute but somehow extremely sexy at the same time. And with her delicious aroma, my body tightened, and I was assailed with the desire to nibble every inch of her body before I ate her like my favorite dessert.

Her brown eyes sparked when they met mine, and her cheeks turned a pretty shade of pink.

That was all it took for me to know.

This woman was mine.