Kairo (BLP Motorcycle Clubs #14)

Chapter 1

Frustration, anger, rage, and betrayal were all the emotions that filled me. I couldn’t believe I was having this conversation with my father again. After years of advocating for myself, it fell on deaf ears. When my father called for me to fly back into town after being gone for two years, I knew it was an urgent issue. I told my father not to call unless it was an important matter. I didn’t think this would be the topic of discussion again.

“But, Dad!” I screamed. “This is hard for me. I can’t just go in here and demand all these people to take me seriously.”

“Junie, if I didn’t think you could do it, I wouldn’t have thrown your name in the ring. Your brother and I believe you can do this.”

I rolled my eyes. My dad, Josiah, had volun-told me that I was the new vice president of his motorcycle club—the Savage Saints. The Savage Saints was one of the baddest, meanest, shadiest, and grimiest bike clubs in the city. Everyone in the club was related, whether by blood or marriage. Once a biker was in, they were a Savage Saint for the rest of their lives.

My dad had many reasons for wanting me to be at the front and center of the Savage Saints, mainly to bring a better image to the club. For the past five years, the Savage Saints had been under a lot of investigations due to the crimes and assaults happening around town. Affiliates were the first people brought in anytime there was a crime committed. The truth of the matter was that all the allegations were true. I’d witnessed my father and his motorcycle club torture, beat, steal, and kill just to get whatever they wanted. My brother and I grew up around it. The Savage Saints raised us, but I decided it wouldn’t be my life. Once I graduated high school, I picked the furthest college I could.

“Let Junior run for vice president then! He’s more involved with the club than me.”

It was as if my brother heard me call his name because he turned the corner. He was the spitting image of my father. Strong minded, muscles, intimidating, with dark skin and hateful eyes. Everyone knew he was the muscle behind a lot of the violent things that happened in the club. My brother used to be sweet when we were kids, but all that changed with the death of our mother. My mother died right before my eighteenth birthday. Junior had just celebrated his sixteenth birthday.

“Pops, stop begging her ass. She knew this shit was coming. She thinks because she got all these degrees that she’s excluded from this shit, but nah. You’re born in this shit, and you die with this shit.”

I rolled my eyes at him, not even fazed by his comments. My brother was hateful, and I’d accepted that a long time ago.

“Junie, Junior is right. You knew this day was coming. You can’t escape it. The Savage Saint’s is your bloodline. We are a family. We look out for one another. Just like Junior said, we die with it.”

“Just like Mom?” I spat, looking between them.

My brother left the room, mumbling under his breath while my father sat there with his head hung low. Even though my mother died ten years ago, the subject was still sensitive. To this day, we didn’t have any information on who murdered my mother. My father and the Savage Saints wreaked havoc all over the city to avenge my mother’s death. The members of the Savage Saints were adamant that the Iron Knights were responsible for my mother’s death. So much blood was shed for six months, yet my mother’s murder was still a cold case. The truce was called after my father and the head honcho of the Iron Knights sat down and decided to end the war. However, the beef wasn’t going anywhere.

“Junebug, your mama loved the Savage Saints. She knew what came along with this lifestyle when she married me. Unfortunately, she lost her life to it, but I know if your mama was here, she would’ve loved to see you take over. I’m getting old, and I need you to learn the ropes. Your brother is too hot headed for this.”

“And I’m not?” I asked.

My father clearly had signs of amnesia if he forgot the havoc that I also released behind my mother. I just wasn’t with all the drug smuggling, robbing, scamming, and weapons operation. We could’ve easily been a decent bike club, but the Savage Saints lived by their name.

“I’m not discrediting your bite, baby girl. We all know what you are capable of. However, we also need someone that will talk first before pulling out an AR-15. The club needs you, Junebug. Do it in honor of your mama.”

I knew it was coming. My father always played the mother card. He knew that if he wanted to get me to do anything, all he had to say were those words. The day my mother died, I made it clear to my father that I would do anything if it meant it would bring honor to my mother.

I let out a deep sigh and rolled my eyes. “When is the next meeting?”

Three days later, I found myself walking behind my dad and my brother. We were at the Savage Saint headquarters. It was a big warehouse building that was in the middle of nowhere. It had been renovated to accommodate all the things we did—the good and the bad. Many motorcycles lined the front of the building, and everyone was in their Savage Saint leather jackets. The colors were red and green. Everyone’s club name was written on the back. No one ever went by their real name for aesthetic and legal purposes. It took us longer to make it inside the space because everyone stopped and greeted us. Many people referred to my dad as Prez and my brother as Monster in greeting while they shook hands. Once members saw me, their eyes ballooned.

“Is that Junebug?” my father's best friend, Belt, and right hand said, walking up to us.

I couldn’t hold my smile. Belt was my favorite. He looked out for us when my mother passed. He made sure he was right there with my father trying to avenge her death. He was head of the weapons operations and ran a tight ship. He might have been the class clown and most dependable, but he was highly respected, and people knew not to fuck with him.

“In the flesh,” I said, walking into his open arms. “How you doing, Belt?”

“Better, especially now that someone with some commonsense is here.” He whispered the last part.

“Let’s hope so,” I said nervously.

“You’ll do fine, Junebug. You know how this shit operates. Your dad and I are getting old as fuck. We need some new motherfuckers in here to run this shit. You’re the best person to start with. You’re logical and got a bite to you. This your motherfucking turf. Own it and run it, baby girl.”

“Thank you, Belt.”

“Ain’t nothing to it. Come on and meet these ugly motherfuckers.”

I laughed, continuing to follow them into the small auditorium we created to hold important meetings. I followed behind my dad, brother, and Belt as we made our way on stage. I looked out into the crowd to see over 200 members in the crowd, ranging from eighteen to seventy years old. Men and women of different ethnicities filled the room in their black leather jackets with green and red writing. There were a lot of familiar faces and plenty of new faces. The club was growing every day, which meant the operations were also.

My father called the meeting to order, and the crowd stood to their feet, citing the Savage Saints creed.

“Savage Saints, that’s what I bleed. We are a family tree. We love our brothers and are thick as thieves. We ride together, we die together. Savage Saints is me.”

Everyone clapped and cheered while taking their seats. After my father got order, he went down the list of operations, calling on the head person to update everyone on what was going on. He called on the president over the charity foundation to give updates, then he went down the line of all clubs: community outreach, school support, recruitment, and member dues. It took an hour and thirty minutes for everyone to give their input.

“Great, we are making progress. Remember, we want the community to know we are more than just a biker gang. We’re here to give back,” my dad said.

I rolled my eyes because I knew it was a bunch of bullshit. The Savage Saints tore this community up. They played a big hand in why a lot of crazy shit would go down in the city.

“Before we conclude, I would like to formally announce…” He looked back at me. He reached his hand out, and like the good daughter I was, I placed my hand in his. “My Junebug has decided to become our new vice president.”

The crowd went wild. Everyone stood to their feet, clapping and cheering. My father let them celebrate and congratulate me for the next thirty seconds before dismissing us.

“Alright, make sure y’all make her feel welcome. If you see her, tell her welcome home.” A weird chill shot up my spine. “We got food in the common area. Y’all stick around and enjoy each other’s company. Five-star patches, please meet me in the warehouse.”

I knew exactly what that meant. Five-star patches were the people that did all the shady grimy shit that involved the Savage Saints. Everyone dispersed. I followed behind my brother as we headed to the warehouse. We were the first people to make it there. The building was dark with limited lighting. It felt cold and spooky. It was as if the sounds of people’s tortured souls echoed through the walls. We made our way to the big oak conference table. Two chairs sat at one end, one for the president and one for the vice president.

“Sit here, Junebug,” my dad said.

I sat in the chair while my brother stood behind it. A couple of minutes later, I heard footsteps across the concrete floor. Seconds later, the table was full and others stood around. My father called the meeting to order in the same cadence of the other meeting.

“Alright, let me know what’s going on. We starting with you, Torn.”

Torn managed the weapons shipment while Belt worked his way toward retirement. Belt had taught him the ropes and was proud of his prodigy. The next down the line was the head of drugs, robbing, and killing.

After thirty minutes of covering all the illegal business, my father switched subjects.

“Now that we covered that, there has been talk on whether Junie will take on the role of being the next vice president of the Savage Saints,” my dad said. Everyone clapped and congratulated me. “Got a few words?”

I didn’t have nothing positive to say. I wanted to let them know I was guilted into this role. It wasn’t as if I took on the responsibility with joy. I did it for my mother. I knew I couldn’t say what I was thinking in a room full of men that breathed, ate, and slept Savage Saints. Instead, I plastered on a fake smile and added some perkiness to my voice.

“Thank you all for accepting me as your vice president. I know I have big shoes to fill but I promise to do my best.”

Everyone clapped and my dad smiled. “I’ve been running this thing by myself since my wife died. It’s only right that my daughter follows in her mother’s footsteps.” They clapped again. “We are going to do things different this time. Since losing my wife, I feel as if she wasn’t protected enough.” He looked at me. He had a strange look on his face.

“Conqueror, can you step forward?”’

I followed my dad’s eyes. My gaze landed on someone I had never seen before. He was mysterious. His eyes were dark and everything about him screamed killer. Many things didn’t intimidate or scare me but looking at him caused a shiver to run down my spine. I thought my brother’s eyes screamed killer, but this man’s eyes screamed serial killer.

“Junebug, Conqueror is your bodyguard. He will be with you every day.”

My eyes jumped back and forth between the serial killer and my dad. “Can we discuss this first?”

“No, it’s done.”

“Dad, I know I’ve been dissociated with the club, but I could’ve at least picked my own bodyguard,” I said, just loud of enough for him to hear me. I wanted to let my father know I didn’t need security. It was unnecessary. If I had to have a bodyguard, he should’ve let me have a say on who it was. When my mother died, my father blamed himself for not having security with her at all the time. He felt that if he would’ve just hired someone, she would still be here.

“Trust me, Junie.” He looked back at everyone around the table, and I realized they had their eyes on us.

“Dad, I don’t even know him,” I fussed.

“Get to know him, because you’re stuck with him.” He looked at me with stern eyes.

I wasn’t fazed. I had more to say, but I wouldn’t dare voice my opinion in front of these men. It would make my father look as if he was some simp. People switched up every day, and if they saw an inch of weakness shown from my father, they might try to weasel their way in. Even though the Savage Saints preached family and loyalty, I didn’t trust them as far as I could throw him.

My father moved on to another subject. Instead of listening to him, I looked at Conqueror, who still stared at me. My spine shivered as he kept his eyes trained on me. Clearly, he was already taking his job seriously. I would be lying if I said he wasn’t one of the sexiest, scariest men I ever laid eyes on. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to run away and hide or ask him to wrap his hand around my throat and deep stroke me until my body became fragile and weak.

“Now,” my father said, voice more serious than before, “let’s discuss the Iron Knights.”