Underground Crows MC Books #1-5

Chapter 1 Bruno

Bruno

The sound of smashing glass breaks the silence. Pans shakes out the rag that he wrapped around his wrist to break the window, sending shards of glass tumbling to the ground.

My eyes dart around the shadowy building, my ears straining for any sign that someone is inside.

But all is quiet at the Chaos Riders HQ. Our intel was correct. The club is on a run out of town, leaving their headquarters unprotected.

I don’t expect to find much here, but we’ll rough the place up, do as much damage as possible. I want Manny, the Chaos Riders’ president, to know that I’m out, and I’m out for revenge.

I give a signal to the boys, and dark shapes emerge from the shadows. Pans is the first one in the window, and he clears the glass with a covered fist so no one gets cut as we climb through.

Flashing lights from the neon sign out front illuminate a bar with dancing poles leading up to the ceiling.

Lyle whistles. “Could get one of those installed at our place, Pres.”

I shoot him a dark look. “You keep that in the strip club.”

Lyle grins, but he knows I’m serious. My club is a place that’s safe for women. There’s a time and a place for a strip pole, and it’s not front and center of our MC club.

“Where should we start?”

Jesse whistles softly as he twirls a baseball bat in his hand.

It’s been a long time since I’ve been inside the Chaos Riders’ clubrooms. It’s been years since we were on friendly terms.

The floor’s sticky, and empty beer bottles lay scattered on the floor. A thick layer of dust coats the framed pictures of bikes on the walls. The place stinks of vomit and stale beer, making my nose crinkle.

They don’t take pride in their clubhouse the way we do. Maybe this little visit isn’t going to hurt them too badly. But it’s not about hurting them. It’s about letting Manny know we’re coming for him, letting him know that I’m out and I want my revenge.

“Anywhere you like. Smash it all to hell.”

I swing my bat at the wall, feeling a surge of satisfaction as a portrait of Manny crashes to the ground.

The glass frame shatters, and I don’t bother trying to muffle the sound.

The boys let out a whoop and let loose with their bats, swinging wildly at anything and everything.

I reckon we’ve got about five minutes before someone shows up, and I’m not going to waste that time.

Pulling my shoulder back, I swing as hard as I can, connecting with a pinball machine. It gives a strangled beep as the glass smashes. I hit it again and again, thinking about the last three years. Three years in prison, locked up and away from my club and away from my daughter, Lily.

It’s lucky I had the foresight to add Gina as one of her guardians. I did that ten years ago in case something ever happened to me so they couldn’t take my daughter away. My bat comes down on the legs of the pinball machine, and it gives a whine as a leg gives out and it sinks to its knees.

Smashing shit up feels good. I spin around, looking for my next target.

The room is in chaos with my guys joyfully destroying the clubhouse.

Lyle has rescued a bottle of bourbon from the bar, and he takes a swig before smashing the fridges in.

Someone’s gone through to the kitchen, and there’s the sound of pots and pans being thrown to the floor.

There’s a staircase, and I head up there. I’m looking for the President’s room. I want to destroy something that belongs to the man who put me behind bars, that made me miss out on so much of Lily’s life.

“That’s for missing her prom.”

I swing the bat heavily, getting grim satisfaction as it carves a hole in the plaster of the wall.

“And that’s for missing her high school graduation.”

The bat makes another hole, and this feels fucking good. Manny put me behind bars. He snitched on me. I was supposed to meet him and his crew for an arms deal. Instead, the cops turned up and caught me with a trunk full of illegal firearms.

I only got a lesser sentence because my sister is the best lawyer in the state.

There’s a corridor upstairs with doors leading off to rooms. I try each one, looking for something that Manny would value.

There’s a small cupboard at the end, and it’s the only door that’s locked, which means there must be something worth protecting in there.

I swing my bat hard. It wedges in the door, sending a jolt up my shoulder.

“Motherfucker.”

I pull the bat out and swing again. This time, it goes all the way through, making a hole in the door. I reach my hand through, searching for the lock on the other side. My hand finds the doorknob and I turn it, hearing the lock pop open.

There’s a rushing sound from the other side of the door, and something comes down on my hand, sending pain shooting up my arm.

“Fuck!” I pull my hand out, and there’s blood on my knuckles. Pain sears up my arm, and I see red. Whoever’s behind that door is going to pay for this.

My fingers are bent in pain, and I can’t grip the baseball bat properly, but I raise it as best I can and open the door.

Someone rushes me. A small ball of fury, hissing at me, all hair and nails, scratching at my arms as they knock me off balance. I step back, pinned against the other side of the corridor. My bat drops to the floor as I wrestle with the wild cat that’s tearing at my skin with her nails.

I know it’s a woman because she smells good. Her long hair is wild, and every time it whips around my face, I get a whiff of the floral scent of whatever shampoo she uses.

She’s got her legs wrapped around me while her fingers claw at my neck. My head tilts back so she can’t scratch my face, and I use my arms to try to wrestle her off. But with my injured hand, it’s hard to get a grip on her.

She’s fighting with everything she’s got, like a cornered animal.

“I’m not gonna hurt you.”

I try to calm her down, but it only makes her more irate. I don’t want to hurt her, but I need to get her off me before she finds an eyeball with one of those nails.

“I need you to calm down.”

I try to warn her, but she still gives a surprised oomph when I drop to my knees and roll her onto the floor.

Now I’m pinning her down, holding her still with my one good arm. Her hair falls off her face, and for the first time, I get a proper look at my attacker.

She’s got full, youthful lips, deep red where she’s been biting them. Her skin is smooth and tanned, and her wide, dark eyes cast around the room wildly.

My breath catches in my throat. My blood roars in my ears.

Mine.

The word echoes in my head, pounds in my heart, and reverberates through my very soul.

Mine, Mine, Mine.

It’s a clear chant in my head that I’m sure she must hear. And maybe she does because her eyes find mine. She stills for a moment, and we stare at each other.

Her look is pure terror, and a flash of anger goes through me, wondering what she’s so frightened of.

“I’m not going to hurt you.”

I keep my voice steady and calm, like how you’d talk to a frightened animal, and it seems to work.

Her eyes stay on me, and her breathing slows. I can feel the swell of her breasts under me with each ragged breath. And help me, God, but I can’t help but glance down to peek at the soft mounds that are billowing up and down as she breathes.

Her top has come unbuttoned, and the white lace of her bra is on show, framing two soft pillowy breasts.

My body responds instantly. And she must feel it because the fight comes back into her. She kicks her knee up, and I duck out the way before she can get me in the goods.

The woman rolls out from under me, and I grab her by the ankle before she can escape. She gives a whimper as I drag her back and pin her under me again.

This time, I pin her legs down with my thighs as I hold her hands over her head.

She looks beautiful splayed out on the ground.

More than beautiful. The blood in my veins rushes south, and I have to look away.

I have to block the sight of her below me, the scent of her filling my nostrils.

Because I’m not an animal and because I recognize this girl.

Although she’s not a girl anymore, now clearly a woman. She’s Scarlett, Manny’s daughter.

“I’m not going to hurt you, Scarlett.”

Her eyes widen when I say her name, and her nostrils flare. “My father will find you.”

She spits the words with such venom that spittle lands on my lips. I flick my tongue out, tasting her on me. Salty and sweet.

“I’m counting on it.”

She breathes hard, but when I help her to her feet, she doesn’t resist.

Keeping one hand grasped around Scarlett’s wrists, I look into what I thought was a closet, the room where Scarlett was hiding. There’s a mattress on the floor and a shelf with a few books and a small stack of folded clothes.

“This your room?”

She sticks her chin out defiantly, not giving me an answer. But the way her cheeks flush red tells me everything I need to know.

Manny lets his daughter sleep in a closet. The guy doesn’t deserve her.

The sounds of crashing from downstairs have faded, and Jesse appears at the top of the stairs. “Time to go, Pres.”

“I guess I’ll be the one who has to clean this mess up,” Scarlett huffs.

“Not this time, darling.”

I lift her off her feet, and she gives a squeal. She’s curvy but she’s short, and I toss her over my shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

“What are you doing?” Scarlett gives an indignant huff.

I don’t answer her because it’s obvious what I’m doing. I’m taking her.

“Put me down.” Scarlett wriggles on my shoulder, and her small fists pummel my back. I stride down the stairs to where the guys are waiting.

“Who’s the girl?” Lyle asks.

I wrap my arms around Scarlett’s jean-clad thighs, pinning her in place.

“She’s my revenge.”