Chapter Daniel “Exile” Shaw
DANIEL “EXILE” SHAW
My best days were the ones when I spent my mornings and afternoons riding with my Black Rainbow club brothers before sharing quiet evenings at home with my sister, Nova, and her girls, four-year-old Skylar and three-year-old Lyric.
Today was one of those days. Hours ago, I was riding around Baton Rouge with York, Ojai, and Chappy. We hit up several businesses partially owned by the club. I shared a pizza lunch with the guys before we dropped by our clubhouse to see our president, Zodiac Bondi.
By four, I had arrived home for dinner and was grilling burgers in the backyard of the one-story house I shared with my sister and the girls. We were just cleaning up when I got the call from my president.
Though I had zero interest in chasing down another motorcycle club’s problem, I had given up the right to say no when I accepted Zodiac’s offer to become the VP of the newly reorganized Black Rainbow Motorcycle Club.
Several months ago, my president forged an alliance with the Crimson Guard Motorcycle Club based out of Little Memphis. The idea was for our clubs to work together to destroy a shadowy mob crawling its way into our territories.
I hadn’t seen the point of making nice with the Arkansas club.
Maybe I was old-fashioned, but I couldn’t take women bikers seriously.
Meeting with the Crimson Guard crew hadn’t changed my mind.
Despite how their president came off like a pretty-boy airhead, Zodiac swore Clint Reed acted that way to test people.
“He’s the real deal, just like his dad,” Zodiac insisted.
My president fostered too much respect for the old Little Memphis Motorcycle Club and especially Ford Reed. Clint’s dad was one of the few people to take down Zodiac in a fight.
“It’d been a close battle,” Zodiac always claimed, “but I hadn’t come out on top of that one.”
Zodiac probably held too much sway over me. I wasn’t a kid in need of a mentor. We were only a few years apart in age. Our personalities complemented each other, though. I tended to only see immediate problems, while Zodiac always focused on the big picture.
That was why he became president despite the old one fighting to remain in power. Zodiac believed in loyalty until it got in his way.
“I know what needs to be done,” he explained to me and our loyal guys when we led an uprising against Wrecker. “We can ride to the end with a guy wearing blinders, or we can insist on a new destiny.”
All my life, I’d wanted to feel right in my skin. My family couldn’t give me what I needed. Though the Marines offered me a chance to leave South Dakota, I didn’t like the military’s rules.
Yet, during my service, I met York, who had been running from his legacy back in Baton Rouge. The Marines gave him a temporary out. After a bomb nearly ended his life, York decided to stop running. By then, I was ready to leave the military, so I followed him home like a lost puppy.
The Black Rainbow club gave me everything I needed. That’s why, when Zodiac told me to ride to the aid of the Crimson Guard’s lawyer, I chose my fastest hog and raced toward Arkansas.
By the time I reached the state border, I was one of a dozen Black Rainbow members riding in a group. Zodiac took the lead. His dark blond hair appeared slicked back as the wind fought to slow us down. Next to me was York, the club’s road captain. He wore a black helmet over his dark hair.
Zodiac never said where we were headed, but I assumed the club’s snitch within the Void gave us an address.
The Void was the group behind many attacks on the Black Rainbow’s assets.
They were also the fuckers who hired a lowlife piece of shit to shoot Nova in the back while she was shopping at Winn-Dixie.
Though I’d killed the man who nearly murdered my sister, I still wanted vengeance against the guys behind the hit.
I knew the men holding Tallulah Reed weren’t the assholes in charge. The Void hid in the shadows, hiring local goons to pull jobs and claim territory. Though I might never gain revenge for what they did to my sister, finding the Crimson Guard’s lawyer could get me a step closer.
Miles outside Little Rock, the sun began setting over the quiet land of isolated homes and long stretches of fields.
We figured the assholes were making their way to Texas, which was considered the Void’s home base.
Instead, the hired assholes stopped at a ranch a hundred miles from the state border.
“They’re handing her off to a new crew,” Zodiac said as we concealed our rides in the woods and prepared to approach the house on foot. “The Void wants Lula alive.”
Despite our snitch normally having solid intel, I remained wary of this potential ambush scenario. This would be a perfect setup to eliminate the Black Rainbow.
Likely stressing the same possibility, York shook his head while checking his rifle. I noticed Ojai frowning hard as he tied back his long, blond hair. Most of the guys seemed on edge.
Zodiac noticed our unease and taunted, “I’ll go alone while you boys live into your seventies. The biker life isn’t for everyone.”
“Asshole,” I muttered, and Zodiac instantly winked at me.
Zodiac knew how to inspire his troops. The guy was always cool and confident.
Zodiac was also a beast in battle. He never got rattled by anything.
He could make women giggle and dampen their panties from across a room.
If we didn’t follow him toward the ranch, I had no doubt he would have absolutely gone alone and likely come out with his damsel in distress under one arm and a six-pack of beer under the other.
So, despite my misgivings about hitting this ranch located in a state where we lacked power, I joined Zodiac and my club brothers.
The sun dropped below the horizon enough to create shadows for us to hide in as we zigzagged toward the quiet ranch. The closer we got, the more I heard voices. Less than a dozen men stood between us and our objective.
Zodiac led his group around the back of the sprawling one-story house, while York set up his sniper rifle near the stables.
As my group entered through the open garage, I heard men arguing nearby over money.
With their attention elsewhere, I left Sugar and Tug to hide between the SUVs and kill anyone entering the house.
Ojai and I headed inside, nearly running into an armed man. He didn’t notice us as he walked away from the kitchen and toward the bedrooms. I figured Tallulah Reed was tied up somewhere in that direction, so I followed the man.
He opened a door only a crack and peered inside. His interest was clear. I felt him considering if he could unleash his perverted desires on the lawyer before anyone noticed.
The arguing outside grew more heated. Glancing back when the voices got louder, the asshole saw me and reached for the large pistol stashed in his holster.
My Bowie knife slid into his larynx, stopping him from crying out. After slapping away his hand from his holster, I slit his throat and eased his dying body to the ground. His hand grabbed at his open wound, trying to stop the bleeding. I ended his flailing by shoving my blade into his eye.
After wiping the blood on his shirt, I entered the room while Ojai kept watch. The sounds of shots outside signaled that Zodiac had made his move. The angry voices turned to panicked ones. I heard return fire as I moved into the bedroom, lit only by a corner lamp.
Tallulah Reed rested on the mattress, facing away from me. She wore a business casual getup with high-end black pants and a shiny, black blouse. Bound behind her back, her wrists were red and bloody as if she had been working on breaking free of the zip ties.
I noticed one of Tallulah’s manicured nails had been ripped off. She wore no shoes, her ankles were bound, and her feet were bloody.
Creeping closer, I never considered this part of the mission. My mind had been on killing rather than consoling a scared woman.
I reached out to touch her shoulder. Finding my voice, I told her everything would be okay. Tallulah rolled onto her back. Her wet, fearful eyes widened at the sight of my face as if she recognized me.
“Your people sent us,” I said when her fear turned to confusion. “The Crimson Guard, I mean.”
The words tumbled out of my mouth. I wasn’t sure if I was even making sense.
Tallulah Reed was the most beautiful woman I’d ever laid eyes on.
Her chocolate brown eyes held a quiet intensity.
Her tawny skin somehow glowed despite the dim lighting.
Her golden-brown hair tumbled in soft waves, framing her perfect face.
Her lips were the definition of kissable.
I felt myself staring starstruck by her beauty. Tongue-tied now, I undid the bindings on her ankles and wrists before helping her sit. Tallulah removed the gag from her mouth but didn’t speak.
Before I could stop myself, I blurted out, “Well, holy hell, if you aren't a vision.”
Tallulah’s gaze hid nothing. At first, she was startled by my words. Then, a smile toyed at the corner of her lips. Suddenly, she narrowed her eyes and glanced around.
“Are you taking me back to my people?”
After blurting out my lustful words, I wasn’t sure how to respond normally. Tallulah watched me intently, waiting for my answer. Before I could make more of a fool of myself, Ojai fired at someone in the hallway. Moving to the door, I glanced out to find a man twitching on the ground.
“Are we leaving?” Ojai asked me as his thick blond hair fell over his eyes.
Nodding, I gestured for Tallulah to join me at the door. She winced when she stood and limped in my direction.
“We’ll get you to a hospital,” I said quietly as Tallulah gave a dismissive glance at the now dead men on the ground.
“Where are we?”
“Not too far out of Little Rock.”
“I’ll need a phone to contact my ex-husband. We should drive to the hospital where he works to ensure the authorities aren’t alerted.”
I wasn’t sure why the woman held hostage five minutes ago was now calling the shots. Rather than disagree, I led Tallulah and Ojai to the living room.
Standing outside at the back glass doors, Zodiac offered me a head nod. We joined him and the rest of the guys on the front lawn before I realized we had no way to move Tallulah to the hospital.
“Can you drive?” I asked her.
“I shouldn’t drive one of these likely stolen cars,” Tallulah replied quickly. “I can ride bitch. Let’s just leave before someone shows up.”
“I heard you were a ballbuster,” Zodiac said and walked past us. “But here you are spewing sugar at everyone.”
As her gaze held mine, Tallulah refused to react to his words. “I’ll ride behind you.”
“Why?” I asked like a fucking dope.
“Because you didn’t try to cop a feel before freeing me. That makes you a step above the other men I’ve been around today. Now, please give me your phone and lead me out of here.”
Zodiac was already on the move. Behind us, the house smoldered. By the time we reached the wooded area, where our motorcycles were stashed, the flames’ heat had begun shattering windows.
Following after me, Tallulah texted furiously like a woman on a mission. She eventually handed back my phone and looked at my motorcycle.
“Everything is in motion with my people. Now, don’t be shy. Jump on and I’ll join you.”
Despite her tough talk, Tallulah winced while climbing on behind me. I thought to ask about her possible injuries, yet I didn’t trust myself to speak.
The woman’s beauty filled my head with a blizzard of emotions. Her hands slid across my body as she adjusted behind me on the bike. My heart began to race.
Once she wrapped her arms around my stomach and gripped my shirt, I was struck by an eerie sensation of déjà vu. This moment felt predestined, as if Tallulah was simply waiting in the world for me to claim her.
As ridiculous as the thought sounded in my head, I couldn’t deny the calm washing over me as I rode into the clear night with Tallulah Reed holding on tight.