Prologue
AXE
Three Months Ago . . .
Standing at the graveside showing respect alongside my other brothers as we watch a woman, who we all had grown fond of since she came into our lives, is laid to rest. I glance in the direction of my brother Gunner as he holds his little girl, Delilah, in his arms.
How none of us knew that sweet little girl was his is beyond me? Delilah looks so much like her father it’s unreal. I don’t get why Quinn never told him until right before she’d been killed in a fire.
My brother is hating himself for what happened and that he lost the chance to work things out with Quinn. Now he’s got to raise his daughter without her mom.
Sighing, I stand strong with him while Quinn’s casket is lowered into the ground.
One of the triplets makes a sound from next to me and I turn to Malice, who’s holding Gemini in his arms. Next to him, Willow has tears falling down her cheeks as she holds Gates in hers, while Lissa holds Gavin.
Reaching around Malice, I take Gates, who immediately starts to calm down, from Willow.
He’s my little buddy, so is Gavin, for that matter.
Glancing further down, I notice my Prez has his arm around his ol’ lady while she holds their little boy, Tate.
Today shouldn’t be like this.
We shouldn’t be burying a woman who shouldn’t have died because of some piece of shit men who think their balls are bigger than anyone else’s.
My thoughts go to a time I do my best to forget ever happened.
“Tracy, come on,” I yell through the door, trying to get my sister to open up. I can hear her tears and I hate it.
I always hate when she cries.
With our dad working all the time to support us, Mom ditched us for some doctor and moved on. I’m the only one left to look after my sister. Dad does what he can, but Trace and I try not to put too much on him since he has so much already.
“Tracy, open the door.” I pound my fist against the door when I hear a thump and immediately right after, the sounds of her cries cease. Throwing my shoulder into the door, I finally get inside and stare in horror at my sister’s body hanging from the ceiling fan.
“Tracy,” I scream her name. I grab her desk chair, pull it close to her, and stand on it. With as much effort as I can, I untie the noose she’d made. Tears spill down my cheeks as I know she’s already gone.
Jumping from the chair with Tracy’s still warm body in my arms, I lay her on her bed and call 911 and then my dad. After hanging up with my dad, I don’t move from where I sit with my sister.
What happened to cause her to kill herself? Why when I’d been right here willing to listen to her?
Fuck.
I inwardly shake my head to stop the thoughts.
There’s nothing I can do about the past. After the police and coroner’s office took Tracy’s body, I’d found the letter she’d written.
She’d apologized and couldn’t bear living anymore after what happened.
Four guys gang-raped her at the school. Since she didn’t name those who raped her in the letter, the police said there wasn’t much they could do but look into it.
They didn’t find the fuckers who caused Tracy to kill herself, but I did. And when I did, I put them in the ground where no one would find them. Shit, there hadn’t even been much of the bodies left to bury when I finished.
See, I’m called Axe for a reason. I have no problem cutting into a body with an axe.
It doesn’t bother me seeing the tip of my weapon of choice slicing through flesh and severing body parts from their owner.
No, I’ll smile doing it, just the way I did when I took care of those who hurt my sister.
I’m even known for putting those parts in a woodchipper after.
Only then do I put the remains in the ground.
I don’t trust easily and now that we’ve lost another woman who meant something to me, I’ll do what I have to, to make sure nothing happens to the others.
I’m devoted to my club and, in doing so, the women who are with my brothers.